Lucifer:MoreThan My Own Existance
by IlaunaDespain
Summary: A single act of violence brought Sara's world to its knees. Now she will have to find her place in the big bad world without the guidance of her mother, all the while keeping a secret from the rest of the world.
1. Night Flight

**Lucifer: More Than My Own Existance**

_**Chapter One**_

_**Night Flight**_

_California Coast 2000_

Palos Verdes cliffs were not a huge tourist attraction. A forty-five-minute drive from L.A., no white sands, just a rocky shore. No huge waves to surf, just small ones that lapped gently at the rocky shore. But the locals knew if you wanted a beautiful sunset, this was the place to find it. If you didn't mind the half mile hike to the top, that is. The best part, it wasn't crowded, especially at 3 am.

Standing on the edge of the cliffs in the dark he could feel the cool winds coming off the ocean, blowing through his dark hair. The smell of the sea water filled his nose, causing it to crinkle at the salty smell but sending the taste of saltwater to the back of his throat.

This was his favorite time. It was still pitch black out, the sun not set to rise for another three hours, but the small birds were starting to wake and were making their presence known. It was like the world was waiting to take in its first breath of sunlight.

There was another reason he loved this time of day, no humans. He truly loved his fathers' creations. They were captivating beings. So breakable, yet so strong. Capable of such amazing acts of love and kindness, as well of horrific acts of brutality. They were such a contradiction to their true nature it fascinated him. Currently there wasn't a human soul around.

"What are you thinking," a sweet voice asked behind him.

"Correction," he said a loud as he turned around to face the human who managed to sneak up on him, "there are two." Elizabeth Fenn, the love of his existence, stood before him, holding their daughter. He reached up and caressed Liz's check and bent down to kiss his daughter on her forehead. It had been a couple millennials since a Celestial being had been born, and there was no way he would let his child be raised in the Silver City. Being taught from the moment of birth she was better than humans, even her own mother, was not something he wanted for their child.

While being with a human was not technically forbidden, having a child with one was frowned upon by his other siblings and possible Father. But Liz was different. There were things she brought out of him he never knew were possible. Love being the biggest. Sure, he had spent his life seeing humans claim to be in love and had seem them do unspeakable things in the name of love, but to be able to feel it for himself and to see that love reflected in Liz's eyes every time he looked at her was not the same. It was better. He didn't think it was possible to be any happier. He had been wrong.

When Liz had told him, she was pregnant with his child, it had brought on a whole different kind of happiness. Seeing her face morph from concern and uncertainty to pure joy when he had wrapped her in his arms and kissed her, had caused his own heart to fill with pleasure. He had immediately dropped to his knees, wrapped his arms around her waist, placed his ear against her belly and started talking to their child.

Hiding Liz's pregnancy from his family had been a lot easier than he thought. Father was distracted by whatever pet project he was currently working on, so sneaking into heaven and taking the Huc Angelus stone had been easy. He gently ran his finger over the smooth stones surface as it sat below Liz's throat. So long as she wore it, Ramiel would never sense their child's, divine heritage, effectively hiding them both in plain sight.

Their daughter was being fussy, and Liz was rocking her back and forth trying to console her. It had been his idea for this nighttime flight to try and sooth her. He held out his arms for her and without hesitation Liz transferred her to him. "Are you sure about this, Michael?" Even though it was a question, there was no doubt in her voice.

Smiling Michael tightened his shoulder blades and rolled his shoulder back, releasing his wings into the air. They caught the slight breeze jerking him back a bit. Unlike his siblings' wings, which ranged from his twin brother's brilliant white to the eldest Amenadiel's dark gray and every color in between, his were midnight black with the tips of each feather a dark cobalt blue, perfect for nighttime flights without humans catching a glimpse of her. His siblings had always found his wings to be unsettling. It had been hard the first few eons with Amenadiel, Raphael, and Uriel constantly teasing him about them. When Amenadiel had called him Malevolent Michael, his twin brother, Lucifer, had put a stop to it. They had gotten into a knock down drag out fist fight. Mother had stepped in and he wasn't sure what she had threatened the others with, but after that the others left the subject of his black wings alone, or at least when he was around. Lucifer made it a point to speak with Michael later, telling him how unique his wings made him and how he shouldn't let his brothers determine how he saw them, to take pride in them. Michael may be the older of the two of them, but it was usually Lucifer who could make him feel better about his difference. If there was one of his siblings who understood about being different, it was Lucifer

He remembered the last time he had seen his twin. It was right after the rebellion, Mother and Father were yelling at each other, while he and their sister, Azrael sat with Lucifer outside his cell. While Azrael had not stood with their brother, she was still close to him. Michael hadn't stood with his twin either, something he would always regret. He was so sure this would be the last time he would get to see his brother, ever. Even after everything Lucifer had done, Michael still loved his brother and it hurt him to think he would have to pend the rest of eternity without him.

Then Father had come in with Mother behind him and told them Lucifer's punishment, banishment to Hell. Without giving either of his siblings a chance to say goodbye, Father had waved his hand and Lucifer was gone. Twice he had tried to fly down and see his brother, the first time Mother had stopped him, saying it was too soon and to let Lucifer adjust to his new home. It had been six hundred years as the earth rotates. The second time he tried was a thousand years after Mother had been kicked out of Heaven. Michael had managed to out fly Amenadiel, he might be stronger, but Michael was quicker, but he never made it past the gates of Hell. Lilith's offspring wouldn't let him pass, and while he was sure he could beat them in a fight, the delay had allowed Amenadiel to catch up with him and drag him back to heaven.

Liz's soft touch brought him back to the present. "Michael, are you alright? You seemed so far just now."

He took the hand resting on his check and kissed it, "Just thinking about family." He cast a glance to his daughter, who hadn't settled down. "And yes, I am sure about this."

Liz smiled at him and leaned in to plant a gently kiss on his lips. "Then go have fun with her. I think she'll love flying with her Dad."

Pushing thoughts of his heavenly family out of his mind, Michael flexed the muscles at the base of his wings, causing them to take a few test beats into the air. Taking a step back with his right foot and bracing one hand on his thigh, his other gripped his daughter firmly, Michael took a deep breath, ran to the edge of the cliff and launched himself off. The first time Liz had seen him do this, even knowing what he truly was, had just about given her a heart attack.

Once airborne, both his arms wrapped protectively about his daughter. His wings stayed tucked back, allowing the air to rush past. He could no longer hear his daughter being fussy. With a grin plastered to his face, and only a few feet before they hit the rock-strewn shore, he snapped his wings open and giving a hard flap, feeling his wing muscles strain, pulled out of the dive and glided low over the ocean surface, so close he could have glided his fingertips into the waters. Two more flaps of his wings sent them skyward, catching an up draft taking them higher. While the air had to be cold, Michael didn't feel it, and his daughter was wrapped in two blankets to keep the chill out as well. Once he had gained enough altitude, he again tucked his wings and dove straight down. Liz had once told him he looked like a roller-coaster when he did this again and again. It was a maneuver his daughter seemed to love, she was no longer fussy or quiet. She was giggling.

As he flew further and further from shore, his thoughts turned to his human, Elizabeth Fenn. She was not the first human he had been with, but she would be the last. Father had sent him to earth on a mission, the one and only time he had ever asked, correction, told him to do anything regarding earth. He had been so impressed by how far humanity had come, that after his task was finished, he had chosen not to return to the Silver City just yet. A year later he met Liz and something about her had fascinated him.

She owned a coffee shop and was a naturally cheerful person, other humans seemed drawn to her upbeat personality, she was always so happy, and Michael was no exception. They started seeing each other and on the third date he realized he cared for her, loved her even. Granted it took Liz nearly dying before he would admit that to even himself, but once he realized he did love her, he did everything he could to keep her. Including telling her what he truly was. That was four years ago and the life they made together kept Michael in complete bliss. Their daughter just made it all perfect.

His child moved within the protection of his arms, and a giddy feeling came over him. He was a father and there was nothing anyone in his family could do to take this from him. Father help any of them if they ever tried.


	2. Turn For The Worse

**Lucifer: More Than My Own Existence**

_**Chapter 2**_

_**Turn for the Worse**_

_California Coast 16 years later_

Sara stood on the Palos Verdes cliffs, her right arm still in a sling and her mother's urn tucked tight into it. She often told Sara this had been her father's favorite place when she had been born, and Sara figured it was a good a place as any to release her mom's ashes, a place for her mother to be close to the man she loved. Taking a deep breath to steady her shaking finger, she unscrewed the top and let it fall to the grass. She waited for a moment, then felt a strong breeze blowing out towards the sea, perfect. She gripped the urn, held it away from her and tilted, letting the wind carry what was left of her mother away from her and out to sea.

Three weeks ago, her whole life came crashing down around her. It had started out a normal Saturday morning, no hint that her quiet, boring life would take a drastic turn for the worse. Her mom had gotten up early and let her sleep in, granted sleeping in too Elizabeth Fenn meant not waking up till 7 am on the weekends unlike the 5:30 wake up calls the other five days of the week.

"Come on Hummingbird," Liz called up to her from the foot of the staircase. "Rise and shine."

Sara groaned, she hated getting up this early. "Come on Mom! It's the weekend," she whined, but still tossed back the covers and rolled out of the bed. "I'm a teenager now!" She pulled her night shirt over her head, grabbed the dark blue sundress she had set out the night before and slipped into it. Moving from her bedroom, grabbing her denim shorts along the way, towards the bathroom she shouted down the stairs, "I'm supposed to be broody, moody, and grumpy!" She didn't hear her mom's response through the closed bathroom door.

Once ready for the day, Sara bounced down the stairs. While she hated getting up early, once she was up, dressed and ready for the day her mood greatly improved. "Sorry I missed that last comment," she said to her mom's back as she entered the kitchen. She grabbed the toast as it popped up.

"I said, 'you're also Sleepy, Bashful, and Doc'." She handed her the butter knife with a smile.

Sara rolled her eyes. "Ha, ha, ha. You're so funny."

"You know what your Father used to say."

Another sigh from her as her mom waited for her to feed her the last line, "Looks aren't everything." There were many things her mom had told her about her dad, what he looked like, his personality and how much he loved his daughter, but the little sayings that popped out her mom's mouth about him were always Sara's favorite. The only thing she hadn't told Sara about her dad, was why he left them. It seemed too painful for her and the few times she had asked her mom she had always told her the cliché line of 'when you're older'.

"So," Sara asked setting the toast on the plate and lathering it with butter, "how long do you think you'll need me at the shop?"

Liz finished off her coffee tossing the empty cup in the garbage, "I believe I can have you out of there by noon. I called Cora and she said she would cover Matt's spot."

Sara nodded. There was very little her mother wouldn't do to help her employees. A year ago, she had hired Matt to work part time. Two months in she'd learned Matt had a drug habit. Her mother had used some of her retirement savings to send the guy to rehab with the promise of Matt getting clean. After completing the program Matt had come back clean and sober, so her mom had given him his job back. A month later he relapsed, but he had been honest about it with them. Rather than fire Matt for a mistake, her mom had simply told him to cut all ties with his drug dealer and he could keep his job, but he would have to be demoted from cashier to environmental service, a position Liz had made up on the spot. Matt had agreed and even Sara could see how much working at the coffee shop meant to him.

"She said she can come in and cover the register at noon, leaving you free to have the rest of the day to yourself. What're your plans?"

Grinning Sara turned towards her mom, "Well, I was invited to Laguna Beach with some friends from school and I was hoping to stop by the surf shop on the way there and pick up my board, which means…"

"Which means," her mom interrupted her left hand fingering the dark purple stone Sara's father had given her mom as a gift, "you need the Jeep to pick it up?" Sara nodded sheepishly. Another sigh, "Sara you just got your license two weeks ago. Laguna Beach is nearly an hour away. I don't like the idea of you driving that far by yourself."

"But Mom, I won't be by myself…"

She held up a hand, "Having Shark-Bait strapped to the top of the jeep doesn't count." Shark-bait was the name Sara had decided for her surfboard, due to her love of Finding Nemo.

"Oh, come on Mom. None of the other kids live close enough to pick me up. And besides, how can I become an independent, confident driver unless I, you know, drive?"

She was shaking her head and Sara knew she wouldn't budge

"Tell you what Hummingbird, after Cora gets settled, I'll call Erik. If he is willing to come-in, you and I can drive out to Laguna Beach, emphasis on the you drive part. There are somethings I need to pick up for the shop. So, you can hang with your friends, and when you're done, we'll head out to Palos Verdes." She held out her hand, "Deal?"

There was only ever one reason her mom would take her out to Palos Verdes, flying practice. Sara beamed, grabbed the extended hand and shook it before she could change his mind. "Deal!"

Erik loved to pick up shifts, he claimed to be saving up for a Stratocaster, so there would be no way he would say no to coming in. She was going to get to drive all the way to Laguna Beach to pick up her new board and surf and later go practice flying. Overall, this was shaping up to be a very good day.

Living just around the block from the Coffee shop, brilliantly name The Coffee Shop, made the commute to work easy. The last nice surprise of the day was seeing Cora already in the shop, with a fresh brew of coffee already going.

"Cora!" Sara said slipping behind the counter and giving said woman a huge hug, "I thought you couldn't be in till noon."

Cora hugged her back, "I was able to shift things around. Figured I would get an early start." She jerked her head towards the back, "Besides, Matt was here way before me, looks like wants to get on your mom's good side."

Sara glanced back and could see Matt with his head tucked, ear buds in, finishing mopping the back. If he followed his new routine, he would start the dining area next, followed by the outside. If one thing could be said about Matt, he was dedicated. Sara just nodded, grabbed her apron and started stacking the coffee cups, preparing for the late morning rush.

As the great Wade Wilson once said, "Life is an endless series of train wrecks with only brief commercial like breaks of happiness." Time to return to our regularly schedule shit storm."

Sara had just finished setting out the last of the coffee sleeves at the right side of the register, Cora was at the register, while her mom was in the back taking care of a shipping order, when He walked in. Well more like burst in. There were no other customers in the shop yet, thank whatever God you chose to believe in. It wasn't the door being slammed open; it was the gun shot that got Sara's attention. Covering her ringing ears, she turned around to see Matt lying spread eagle on the still wet floor, a red pool quickly forming beneath him.

Her ears were still ringing when she realized she was looking at the barrel of a Beretta, specifically a Beretta .45mm, with an ambidextrous safety that Sara could see clearly was not engaged. _How the hell do I know what kind of gun this is._ He was yelling something at her, but her brain was not processing that he was telling her to get down, quickly enough. There was another loud bang and pain erupted just below her right clavicle, burning its way down her arm and into her fingertips. It felt like she was moving under water, as she turned her head right and saw blood pouring out of the gunshot there. She tried to move her right arm, but it hung lifeless.

Then she heard her mom calling her name, or maybe she was yelling it, hard for her to tell through the pain in her chest and back. The next thought to cross her mind was, '_where was Cora?_' She had been at the register last time Sara saw her, but now the register was unmanned. It felt like hours had passed from the time He had shot her, too the moment her legs gave out and she fell to the ground, hitting the right side of her head on the table beside her.

There was more yelling as she lay there, but again Sara couldn't make out what the voices were yelling. Another gunshot pulled Sara's attention towards the counter. Her mom was falling against the back wall, knocking the cups and lids off the counter and holding her gut. "No," she whispered.

He walked around the register and in slow motion Sara saw Him raise the gun and fire three more times into her mom. Liz slumped behind the counter out of Sara's line of sight, as the gunman reached into the register, pulled out what little cash there was and started to walk out from behind the counter. He paid no attention to Sara, walking past Matt, whom Sara was surprised to see was still alive and managed to grab a hold of the gunman's pant leg. He squatted over Matt and waved the gun in his face but still Matt refused to let go of his pant leg. A quick shrug of His shoulders and He shot Matt point blank in the chest. Matt didn't move after that.

Without casting a second glance behind him, He strolled out of the Coffee Shop. A total of two minutes had passed. Two minutes and Sara's life had changed forever.

It took her more five minutes to realize He was gone. Using her left arm, she tried to push herself up. Trying to ignore the shooting pain in her chest, the fire spreading through to her back, and the fact she couldn't move her right arm, made pushing herself up impossible. She slipped a couple times in her own blood. _How much blood could a person lose and survive? _She shook that thought out of her mind, not wanting to think about how much blood her mom was losing while she lay there. _Ok, so getting up and walking is out of the question. _ A line from her favorite movie came to her. 'If you can't walk, crawl.' She could crawl, after all her legs weren't broken. She hoped.

The blood pool actually came in handy, it made sliding her body across the ground easier. _Well that's a morbid thought. _ Using only her legs to push and her left arm to brace herself up she slowly army crawled her way behind the counter. Getting there was easier than seeing her mom lying flat on her back, unmoving behind it. "Mom," she called out softly. One final push of her legs and Sara was able to grab her shoulder and shake it. "Mom."

Her eyes fluttered opened, "Hummingbird," her voice was barely above a whisper and Sara really had to struggle to hear her, "are… you…" her voice trailed off.

"I'll be fine," she whispered to her, putting her head closer to her mom's. She didn't feel fine; in fact, she was having a hard time just keeping her eyes opened. Not to mention that every time she took in a breath, it felt like gulping hot air. "I need to get you help."

Sara heard the front door open and for a moment she thought the shooter was back to finish the job but looking up she saw a group of four stop short. It took all of three seconds for the scene in front of them to register, Matt's body and the blood trail Sara left behind her. There were three girls and one guy. Two of the girls screamed, turned and bolted out the door. The third girl just stood there, while the guy seemed to have some kind training, because he slapped his phone in girl three's hand.

"Kim, call 911." His voice seemed un-naturally loud after hearing her mom's whispers, but it also left no argument and seemed to snap Kim out of her stupor.

She watched him kneel beside Matt, feel for a pulse and quickly left his side, confirming what Sara already knew. He moved towards Sara and her mom, talking to Sara.

"My name's Josh, I'm going to help you."

Sara shook her head and nodded towards her mom, "She's hurt worse than me. Her first."

Josh made the same motion of checking for a pulse on the side of her mom's neck but returned his attention to Sara, helping her sit up. "Kim, bring me as many napkins as you can, I need to stop the bleeding."

It took Sara a moment to realize he was talking about her bleeding and she tried to push him towards her mom, "No she's been shot, help her."

Kim was handing the Josh the napkins, she seemed incredible pale, "Here Josh, these are all the clean ones they have, and the ambulance is on the way"

Josh took the offered napkins and pressed them to Sara's wound, "This may hurt but I need to keep pressure. What's your name?"

Again, Sara tried to redirect Josh to her mom, "Sara. Please help my mom."

She looked towards her mom and with his left-hand Josh gently redirected her face back towards him, "Sara I need you to focus on me, okay." There was a sharp pain as he pressed harder and a hissed escaped her lips. This made her look at him, "Kim and I are going to help you stand up and move you out from behind the counter. It'll make it easier to treat you. Ready?"

For the third time Sara tried to express how she was fine, and her mom was the one who need the attention. Kim had moved to her left side and was looping Sara's left arm over her shoulder while Josh had his arm around her waist, pinning her right between the two of them, and they were pulling her to her feet, whether she was ready or not.

Three steps in and the pain from her chest and back caught up with her. It wasn't like in the movies, a slow graceful swoon to the floor. The darkness started around the edge of her field of vision, blocking out Matt's body, and like someone slowly turning a dimmer switch down, it began to creep towards the center of her vision, till all she saw was darkness.


	3. Broken Family

**Lucifer: More Than My Own Existence**

_**Chapter 3**_

_**A Broken Family**_

By the time Michael figured there was something wrong, it was too late. Liz's fear over their daughters' safety was what first let him know his family needed him, and while he was in heaven when he felt this immense fear, he immediately took flight. He was half-way there when he felt Liz's sudden fear turn to terror, felt the pain with the first gunshot, and the three that followed. The agony was enough to cause him to fall a few thousand feet before righting himself. It was through this connection that he felt Liz leave, their daughter, this world and him behind.

It shouldn't have hurt this bad, knowing Liz was dead. She would go to heaven, of that Michael was certain, where else would someone like Liz go. Hell was out of the question. It wasn't like he would never be able to go and see her. No, the hurt was in knowing that Sara, his daughter, had just lost her mother and was injured as well. This is what really helped him to keep from falling back to earth. He had to get to Sara.

_Hold on Sara, _he thought to himself. Sara. Such a simple beautiful name Liz had chosen. Granted it was a play on words with Liz's last name, Sara Fenn, seraphim, an angel of the highest order and one of pure light. Given that Michael, Lucifer, Amenadiel, and Gabriel were all of that order, Michael thought it would be perfect. He might not be able to be there physically to see her grow up, at least her name would inspire her to be the best human she could. He still remembered the day he realized he would not be able to keep his little piece of happiness.

Michael was managing the Coffee Hut while Liz had taken Sara to her two-week appointment. There were no customers, so he saw Raphael through the window before he actually came into the shop.

"Hello, brother" Raphael said, strolling in, looking about the place in mild contempt.

He plastered a fake smile to his face as he greeted him back, "It is good to see you Raphe. It has been too long."

"Yes, it has." Raphael was the picture of divinity. Curly blonde hair, sharp blue eyes and Michael couldn't believe it, but his brother was actually wearing his war armor and had his bloody wings out. Not that a human would see them. That was Raphael's gift, he could make humans see what he wanted them to. Think burning bush, or an angel with sixteen wings.

Michael came out from behind the counter, grateful Liz and Sara were not there. "What brings you to Earth? Has Father send you here on assignment?"

Raphael's mouth twitched a little at the corners, "In away. Your absence has been noticed in the Silver City. I was sent to check on you."

His stomach dropped a little. But only a little. If his siblings knew about Liz or Sara, Remiel would have come to fetch his daughter, not Raphael. So, it stood to reason, they knew nothing of his family.

"Well," Michael said, as he removed the apron and tossed it back behind the counter. "Consider me checked on and in good health. Feel free to return to heaven and let them all know."

Raphael walked over to a table Michael had not yet cleared, acting as if hadn't heard him and picked up the unfinished coffee. "I think you miss understand me, Brother." He sniffed the contents in disgust, "I know about your human."

The smile vanished from Michael's face and a knot formed in the pit of his stomach, "What of her brother? There is no rule that says I cannot interact with humans."

Setting the coffee down, he wiped his hands on the tablecloth. "It is the way you have interacted. You are getting too intimate with this human. I know she is aware of who and what you really are. Humans and the divine cannot mix." He walked up to Michael and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Brother, what would happen if you were to father a child with this human? You know that is forbidden."

Michael felt relief flood his body. Raphael knew of Liz and that he was with her but knew nothing of Sara. Not to mention that having a child was not forbidden, just frowned up. He knocked Michael's hand off his shoulder, "What do you want Raphael?"

Turning his back on Michael and lacing his hands behind his back he answered, almost smugly, "Your mission from Father is finished, you will return with me to the Silver City, now."

A small laugh escaped Michael's lips, "If Father truly wanted me back in the Silver City, he would have sent Amenadiel, not you." It was true. Amenadiel was the only angel Michael could not beat, but he had come pretty damn close.

Michael had to jump back when Raphael spun around, letting his brother's wings knock over the tables, "Again you misunderstand. If you do not come with me, well lets' just say humans are such fragile creatures."

Before Raphael could stop him, Michael had him by the throat and shoved up against the right-side of the wall, his black wings out, a snarl leaving his throat. "Do not piss me off brother."

Raphael was laughing now, "I sometimes forget how much you can look like him when you are mad."

Michael didn't need him to say whom he was referring to. But he would use it if it would keep his family safe, "Lucifer isn't the only one who liked to punish evil. You come near Elizabeth and I will end you." He let him go and stepped back. "Brother," came out more of an expletive.

Getting to his feet, while rubbing his throat, Raphael glared at him, "You both definitely share a temper." He took a moment than faced Michael, "You cannot protect her forever. Yes, angels can't kill humans, but you know Uriel talent. Will you really subject her to a life of constantly looking over her shoulder? That's no life. Not even for a human."

_Damn it,_ Michael thought. He hated to admit but Raphael was right. If he stayed there with Liz, it wouldn't just put her in harm's way but their daughter as well. His heavenly family would find out about Sara, even with the Liz wearing the Huc Angelus. All it did was hide Sara's divine heritage; it did not hide her physically. There were two things Michael was not willing to gamble on, the life of the woman he loved and the life of his child.

He looked away, "Very well. I will return." He faced Raphael and his brother was wearing a smug look on his face. Another growl left his lips and Raphael found himself plastered against the wall, this time it was Michaels' forearm at his throat, pinning him in place. "But I will say goodbye to her alone," he growled at him. Michael felt his eyes flash and a brief look of panic wiped the smugness of Raphael's face, who nodded, so Michael released him. "I will return to the Silver City with the sunrise tomorrow."

Raphael started to object but again Michael glared at him. "As you wish brother," was all he said before he slunk off like a beaten dog.

After Raphael had creeped out of the Coffee Shop, Michael close up early. If this was going to be his last day with his family, he would make it memorable.

It had hurt Michael to tell Sara he would have to return home and at first, she had thought it would not be permanent.

"Well," she told him holding back tears and not really believing the words coming out of her mouth, "it's not like you won't be returning eventually."

He had shaken his head sadly, "I cannot return, it will put you and Sara in too much danger."

There had been a lot of tears on Liz's part and it had broken Michael's heart, not being able to give her what she truly wanted, which was for him to stay. Liz had hung a sign on the Coffee Shops' door that it would be closed the following day and she, Sara and Michael had driven out to the Cliffs. Liz had waited in the car while he took his daughter for a final flight, knowing that he would not be there, should she end up with wings, to teach her to fly and she let a few tears fall before wiping them away.

Michael had flown out over the sea so far that not even the shore lights were visible by the time he thought it best to turn and head back. If he'd wanted he could have flown all the way to the Atlantic and still be back long before the sun rose. But that would have taken time from Liz and now that Sara was sound asleep in his arms, he knew he didn't want to waste a moment with her.

Liz had wrapped herself up in a blanket seated on the only bench and was waiting for him to return. She didn't get up when he landed with their daughter, just motioned to the car. Michael took the hint, and ever so gently place Sara securely in the car seat. It was warmer in there and even Michael could feel that tonight would be chilled. She took a shaky breath when he returned to her.

"Michael, I can't raise her on my own," her voice shook.

He was next to her in an instant, his arms around her and pulling her tight to his chest. "If I knew of a way to keep the both of you safe, I would in a heartbeat. If they find out about Sara, they will take her from you, and I know that will destroy your heart. Better it be me than Sara."

There was nothing Liz could argue about those statements. As much as she loved Michael, losing her daughter would kill her. "I hate this!" She wrapped her arms around him, as if trying to keep him from flying off. Which, in a way, she was. "Why can't they just leave you alone."

A smile played at his lips, but he didn't dare laugh, not right now. "I don't know Liz, but I do know this, I can't let them hurt you like that. And so, I'll return." He pulled out of her embrace and cupped her delicate chin with his hand, "But if I think for a second, I can return to you and Sara, I will." He kissed her forehead. "I promise."

Elizabeth could tell he wanted to say something else, "Say it," she told him, gently caressing his cheek, while looking into his eyes. "I want to hear you say it."

Michael looked away towards the rising sun knowing that Raphael would not wait a second longer than he had to. He gazed back to her, his eyes saying what she wanted him to say. "I love you, Elizabeth Fenn. He kissed her again and she smiled sadly up at him. There was no way she could keep him here and she knew it.

Flying away from Liz and Sara had been the hardest thing Michael had ever endured in his long life. But now, flying back to his daughter was the most painful.

He tucked his wings and landed half a block away, out of sight of prying eyes, and ran the rest. Because Liz was no longer alive Michael could sense Sara as a Celestial being. He needed to get to her quickly before his family realized what it was they were sensing. It had been many millenniums since a Celestial was born and Michael was hoping they would not recognize the signs.

He arrived before there were too many there were cops, but it looked as if the paramedics had already been there and left. The officers who would most likely be working the case had not shown up yet, so the few officers who were there had blocked off the whole sidewalk in front of the store, but this didn't stop him. He pulled the tape aside and walked towards the door.

"Sir!" an angry voice shouted from behind him. "You can't go in the…" The officer stopped short when Michael turned to face him. "Oh! Lucifer. I'm sorry. Didn't recognize you." He glanced up and down eyeing Michael's wardrobe, "Trying a new look are ya?"

Michael was currently wearing jeans, a white t-shirt, with sneakers. He just nodded, a small knot forming in his stomach. He knew Lucifer was no longer minding hell but had no idea his twin had set up shop in L.A. If his twin was there maybe, he should reconsider just running into the shop. But the idea of Lucifer finding out about Sara was enough to keep him moving.

"Odd. You beat Detective Decker here." The officer motioned for Michael to head in. Again, Michael kept his response to a simple nod.

Michael was met with blood and carnage. There was still a body lying in the middle of the shop covered in a white sheet, the pool of blood had already soaked through. There was also, happily no sign of his brother. A woman sat alone at the table furthest from the body and look to be an employee there, she still wore Coffee Shop apron. He be-lined for her.

"I'm sorry Miss," Michael said as he took a seat across from her. Her eyes lit up for a second and then as if remember what she had just seen, they darkened. "I know you have been through a lot but I'm looking for Sara Fenn. I know she was here, and I know she was injured. Could you tell me where they took her?"

Cora couldn't take her eyes off this man. Yes, he was certainly not her normal type, very tall, dark hair, and the deepest dark brown eyes she had ever seen. His voice was deep, husky and brought all kinds of inappropriate thoughts to her. Not to mention that t-shirt did nothing but enhance the physic underneath it. Then she remembered what had happened just ten minutes ago and she lowered her eyes and shook her head. She looked up again when she felt him take her hand.

"Please." God his eyes looked so sad and so worried. "I knew Liz and I need to make sure Sara is alright."

Michael pushed a little with his mind, encouraging this woman to open up to him.

She shook her head but answered, "They took Sara to Cedar's Trauma Center in downtown LA. She didn't look good."

Another officer came up to the table and draped a blanket around her before asking her to follow him outside, he gave Michael a node, most likely mistaken him for Lucifer, as he guided the woman out of the shop. This left Michael alone in the shop. He got to his feet and cast a quick glance around the place but wished to his Father he hadn't. Liz was lying just behind the counter. Before he knew it, he found himself kneeling beside her. The cops hadn't covered her body and Michael brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face, shocked at how cold and colorless she was.

Tears stung the corner of his eyes and it still surprised him how much it hurt to know that Liz r was really gone from this world. He took a deep breath telling himself that once he checked on Sara, he would head up to heaven to check on Liz. He knew he couldn't stay too much longer, not if he wanted to avoid running into his twin. He leaned down, kissed Liz on her cold forehead, removed the Huc Angelus from her neck and took his leave out the back door.

He had just opened the back door in the office, when he heard a version of his voice with a thick British accent. "I'm telling you Detective, I just arrived. I have no idea what that officer is talking about." For just a moment Michael considered revealing himself to Lucifer but stopped, Sara needed him. "And seriously," his brother continued with such distain in his voice, Michael grinned, "do you think I would EVER wear jeans?" Once out the door he took flight. He'd lived in L.A. long enough he knew where Cedar's Trauma Center.

* * *

When Sara was five her mom gave her the nickname Hummingbird. She and her mother had gone camping on the coast. It was just the two of them and since Sara was only five, her mom tended to keep a close eye on her. This time Sara managed to give her mom the slip. She had seen a red neck hummingbird and had followed it. She remembered looking up at the hummingbird, with her little hands reached up towards it. Then she was falling. She had been so enthralled with this tiny little flying creature that she didn't see the edge of the cliff and had walked right off it.

Her stomach dropped and what air was left in her chest rushed out. Some long forgotten instinct kick in and Sara pointed her feet towards the rapidly approaching ground. She felt the muscles of her back tighten and an excruciating burning sensation erupted. Dark wings unfurled and managed to catch some air. They faltered for a moment, but Sara willed them to stay open, even though the fire shooting across her back brought tears to her eyes. Her descent slowed and a few feet from the bottom she tightened her back muscles and her wings flapped, allowing her to hover for just a moment before her feet touched the ground. She was now standing on the beach shore, the waves lapping at her feet, with a fifty-foot cliff at her back.

By the time Liz found her, unharmed, her dark wings still out, Sara had been terrified. To this day her mom believed it was the fall and the appearance of her wings that had caused her daughter to shake with fear, but it wasn't. Sara had been frightened of two things. One that she would be in trouble for wondering off, and two her mom would never let her use her wings again.

Sara never told her mom that the pain when her wings had first erupted from her back had been excruciating. Like a thousand red hot pokers being shoved out of her back. The first time waking up after being shot was probable the closes thing to that pain that she had felt in a long time.

The first time Sara finally managed to get her eyes to open, she was on a gurney in the back of an ambulance. The man had his hands on her right shoulder and was pushing hard enough to make Sara to cry out.

"I'm sorry kido, but I have to keep pressure. The bullet may have nicked an artery and I can't get your bleeding under control"

Sara didn't care about the bleeding, she cared that the burning sensation was not limited to the front of her shoulder. There was a burning pain behind her as well and she could feel a the wetness on her back. Every time he pushed on her shoulder, she felt the pain travel from front to back, and that's not even mentioning the sickening grinding noise she was hearing coming from her shoulder.

"Mike! You need to hurry. She's still bleeding, and her blood pressure is dropping."

There was a slight acceleration and Sara started to blackout.

The second time Sara managed to open her eyes, there were bright lights shining in her eyes, and voices were over lapping.

"How close was the shooter, this is a mess."

"I don't think I've seen an exit wound this large on someone so little."

"Clavicle and acromion bones are fractured."

"Careful her shoulder is dislocated."

"Tore through the scapula, nicked the axial artery, she's bleeding out."

Sara eventually tried to close her eyes, because the lights were to bright but a jolt of pain in her shoulder, followed by a very audible crack and pop, caused her eyes to fly open and a scream to come rolling out. Then happily she was out again.

This blackout was nothing like the others. There was no pain, no cold, no pressure, and no feelings in general. It was just dark. Sara didn't even feel aware of herself at all. She hated this feeling. There was no way for her to measure how much time had passed. It didn't feel like a long time, but it also felt like an eternity.

After the painful re-location of her shoulder the next thing Sara felt was, well nothing. But this was not like the black nothing. No, this was like when you go to the dentist and he shoots novacane into your mouth. Your lips feel nothing. Even when your run your fingertips over them, still nothing. That is what this new nothing felt like on the entire right side of her body.

She could hear a steady beeping off to her left, and a little bit in front of her were other voices, but they were muffled and there was no way for Sara to make-out what they were saying. However, the male voice beside her left ear was perfectly clear.

"Sara, I am so sorry. I tried to get there in time, but I was too late."

This voice brought back long forgotten memories. Sea air, cold air whipping her face, and the smell of salt-water, and strong arms wrapping her up protectively.

She felt him take her left hand and hold it tight. "I cannot stay and protect you, but I will be keeping a closer eye on you." She felt him press her hand to his lips. "This," he was saying, "will keep you hidden from my family." She felt him slip something over her head, it landed to rest just below her throat. "It was your mothers. Remember to never take it off Sara." He knew she could hear him, or he wouldn't be telling her this.

Sara tried as hard as she could to will her eyes open, they fluttered a little but wouldn't stay open.

"I love you Sara," he kissed her forehead, "I will always love you."

She could feel him start to let go of her hand and not knowing why she tightened her grip on him, at least she tried. He must have felt her try and squeeze his hand because she felt him hesitate.

She took that opportunity to force her eyes to open. She was in a hospital room, that much was obvious. The lighting was wrong though, it all looked a soft pink. She blinked a couple times to try and make sense of it. Sara turned her head to the side and was meet with the darkest chocolate brown eyes. _I know those eyes, _she thought.

"Please," she whispered. Even though she was the one saying it, even she could barely make out what she said. The man beside her seemed to have no problem hearing her. "Don't go."

He gave her hand a gentle squeeze back, "I have to honey. You are not safe if I stay."

_I wasn't safe with you gone, _she wanted to say back, because she finally realized who she was looking at. Her father.

Since she couldn't voice what she wanted she shook her head and held his hand tighter, or at least she thought she did. But whatever energy she had left her and she could feel herself sinking back into the nothingness. "Dad, please."

But he was already gone.


	4. Let It All Out

**More Than My Own Existence**

_**Chapter**_

_**Let It All Out**_

Sara was sitting on an unbelievably comfortable couch, in an incredibly stuffy office. Her arm still in a shoulder sling and her emotions still raw as hell. Her mother's remains had been returned to her and were currently sitting in her bag at the other end of the couch. After this meeting Sara planned to go to Palos Verdes to release the ashes.

Sara didn't want to talk to anyone about the shooting, or the aftermath. She vaguely remembered seeing a man in her room, a man she believed was her dad, but she had just woken up after surgery and it was all foggy. In fact, if it wasn't for the necklace sitting at her throat, she would have believed the doctors and nurses that she had imagined the man in her room.

A petit blonde in a beige skirt and crisp button-down shirt, sat across from her. Her legs crossed at the ankles and tucked under the chair, her hands resting comfortable in her lap. Dr Linda Martin had politely asked Mrs. Stock, the woman who ran the halfway house Sara was currently staying at, to step into the waiting room while she spoke with Sara. Sara hadn't and wasn't planning on speaking with Dr. Martin. She was only there because Mrs. Stock and her sister had become worried about Sara when she had refused to talk to anyone about, what Sara was now calling, The Event.

"Mrs. Stock says you are having a hard time with your mother's death? That you are becoming withdrawn."

Sara currently sat leaning against the right side of the couch, her legs curled up under her, a slightly frayed pillow in her lap. She simply gave a shrug, pulling her legs tighter to her, her right hand continued to pick at the threads in the pillow and her left fiddled with the necklace. She kept her eyes off the doctor.

"She says you are refusing to talk about the shooting."

"There's nothing to talk about." She kept her gaze down and her face stoic. "My mom was murdered, the cops have no leads, end of story." Thinking about The Event, thinking about life before The Event, even thinking about her mom, hurt. Not just a pain in her chest, the ach would spread through her entire body until her eyes started to sting and if she didn't stamp those feelings back down, she would lose it. There had been multiple times she'd felt like she was close to breaking but had pulled herself back.

"If you don't talk about it," Dr. Martin's voice was incredibly soft and understanding, nothing like the social workers, or doctors, or even the officers, "it'll be harder for you to face it further down the road."

Sitting up higher Sara leaned towards her, "What makes you think I want to talk about The Event?"

"Talking about the shooting, about what you witnessed, will help. I promise." Sara felt some of the wall crumble at that word. '_Damn this woman was good at her job_.' If it wasn't for that stupid pain in her chest.

That achy feeling was back, "You think I don't know that!" Her voice hitched and there was a slight hysteric edge to it. "Because I do. I also know that right now, in this moment, if I talk about The Event, I will lose it." She took a deep breath and reigned herself in, returning her voice to normal, "And I know I will not be able to pull myself back from that ledge."

Dr. Martin uncrossed her legs and leaned towards her, "Sara, you have to trust me. Trust me that I will not let go off that ledge. Trust that I will pull you back when you need me too." Sara noticed that she had one hand extended towards her, like a cop holing out a hand to pull a jumper back at the last possible moment.

Sara shook her head, not to deny the offer, because she wanted more than anything to be able to trust her, the truth was there were things she could never tell this Doctor about. Things that would land her in the loony bin if she ever did. Like the fact the bullet had ripped a perfect hold in her scapula, and she didn't think she would ever be able to fly again. There was no one to talk to about things like that. If her father had stuck around, she could have asked him, but she couldn't even talk about the fact he was an angel, without sounding like a religious nut job. But the one thing she could not talk about was how much she missed her mom, and where Sara knew she was.

The ach had spread though her whole body, the sting behind her eyes was in full force. "It hurts too much," came out soft, as a whisper of tears started to fill the corner of her eyes. Her lower lip started to tremble and if Sara didn't stop now, she would fall.

She took a deep breath, leaning away from the offer hand. "I'm sorry Doc," Sara told her. She got to her feet, grabbed her bag, another wave of pain hitting her as the weight of the bag reminded her where she was going next. "We're done." She didn't wait for Dr. Martin to say anything, walked out of the office, ignoring the look of confusion on Mrs. Stock's face.

Mrs. Stock and Sara had driven in total silence after the total failure at Dr. Martin's office. When Mrs. Stock had pulled into the parking lot, she had told Sara she would pick her up in about thirty to forty minutes. This meant Sara had about an hour.

After releasing her mom's ashes Sara sat on the one bench at the cliffs with her eyes closed, her mind wondering yet again to how much her life had changed. Those first three days after the shooting were still a blur. Other than seeing her father, but even that was fuzzy. His eyes however were clear a day. Sara had seen those eyes looking back at her every time she looked in the mirror. The same shape and the same dark chocolate brown.

The only other thing Sara could remember clearly was the pain. The pain in her back, chest and heart. Only two weeks out and her emotions were still raw. Her whole life was turned upside down. The CCPS had spent mere days trying to find a living relative to become her guardian, but her mom's parents where dead, and Liz had been an only child. Her contact with her father at the hospital had been the first time she had even laid eyes on him since she was a week old, it wasn't as if he had left contact information. Which is how she ended up with Mrs. Stock and four other kids. Sara being the oldest. Mrs. Stock had to drive one of the younger kids to a dentist's appointment. The plan was for Sara to wait there till she could drive back and pick her up. She didn't mind, it gave her a chance to be alone, but like everything in else in her life, it didn't last.

A shadow fell on her face and a male voice spoke over her, "Sara Fenn, your social worker said we might find you here."

Sara didn't open her eyes. It had been two weeks since she'd heard from the cops, so it shouldn't have surprised her they would track her down. "Goody on you Officers, you know how to do your job." She readjusted the sling; her shoulder and shoulder blade were staring to ach. "And no, I don't have anything to say to you."

She opened her eyes, held up her hand to block out the sun, and was a little surprised these were not the same cops who interviewed her at the hospital. The one who had spoken had dark blonde hair with a pristine style cut, eyes that were a bright blue, and his voice didn't make Sara want to throat punch the man. His companion was smaller, her blonde hair was pulled back out of her face in a lose ponytail, and her outfit, stance and the fact she was carrying a badge and gun screamed cop.

"This is Detective Chloe Decker, I'm Detective Daniel Espinoza. We were hoping you could tell us…"

"No." Sara didn't give him chance to finish. "I am not going over what happened for the hundredth time. You have my statement."

Sara walked past them towards the edge of the cliff, refusing to look at the two of them. Unlike most people, Sara loved high places. She gazed out over the water. The last time she had been this high, she had jumped off the cliff and nosed dived towards the rocks, pulling up at the last minute and skimming over the waves. Something she may never be able to do now. The pain in her chest was back and she rubbed the heal of her hand against her it, "I… I can't."

Detective Espinoza started to reach for her shoulder to stop her, but Sara spun around to knock his hand way. "Don't," she hissed at him.

"Sorry," he took a step back with his hands in the air. "We read the report and we are hoping to ask some follow up questions."

Sara shook her, "If you need to know something, ask the officer who took it. I told him everything I can remember." She headed back down towards the parking lot, a half mile hike. "I'm sorry, but I can't do this." Keeping her eyes forward, Sara kept going, her shoulder was on fire now, and the air seemed to have rose a couple degrees.

Both detectives followed her, easily keeping pace with her. "Look I can't imagine what you are going through."

"You're right," she tossed over her shoulder. The parking lot was a few feet now and Sara could see Mrs. Stock waiting in the car. Sara stopped and turned on them, "You can't imagine what it's like to lose your parent. To see a man, shoot her for a few hundred dollars, to watch her bleed out in front of you, to not get the chase to say goodbye." That annoying sting was back behind her eyes and Sara shut that shit down by slamming her fist into her thigh. "So, do not stand there…"

"I do," Detective Decker finally spoke up, but so softly, Sara wasn't sure she had spoken at all. It was enough to stop Sara's rant and bring her up short.

"What?"

Decker stepped around Espinoza, held up her hand and approached Sara like a wounded animal. Which was not far from the truth. "I do know what it's like to lose a parent. To have them gunned down for what was in a register and know they bled out. And I know what it's like not to be able to say goodbye." She gestured to herself, "My father was killed in a robbery while he was on duty. Took two bullets to the chest. Wrong place, wrong time." Decker was less than six inches from Sara and still she didn't move. She recognized that haunted look in Decker's eyes. She saw it every morning when she looked in the mirror.

"For months I still expected to see him come home at the end of long day. To hear him call me Monkey and make me my favorite egg sandwich. I know how badly that hurts and I know that hurt doesn't go way." There was moisture in Sara's cheek, and she noticed the same was true for the detective.

Sara's voice hitched when she asked, "When does it stop hurting?" She'd wrapped her left arm over her right.

Chloe shrugged, she now had a gentle hand on Sara's left shoulder, rubbing it soothingly, "I find that it still does."

By then Mrs. Stock was out of the car and calling up the path, "Sara! Are you ready?"

She shook her head but called back, "Yea! I'll be right there." She turned back to Chloe and Daniel, "If you want to follow us back to Mrs. Stocks house, I'll talk to you there." Pulling her arms gently out of Decker's hold, she turned and walked to Mrs. Stock's car and got in. If they really wanted her to go over what she had seen, they would follow her back to the halfway house.

The Halfway House was not what Sara expected when she was first told she would be staying there. First, it was on a ranch called Woody's Ranch, run by Mrs. Stock and her sister Joyce, and named after their Grandfather Woody. Second, it had more than enough rooms and bathrooms for ten people, not counting Mrs. Stock and her sister. It was technically three levels and all the rooms were on the top floor, again with the exception of Mrs. Stock and her sister who had their own rooms on the main level. The basement was set up as one big entertainment room, with one large screen Tv, a foosball table, and in the back right corner a treadmill and free weights. Not that there was a lot of time for those. Mrs. Stock and Joyce expected the kids there help out on the ranch.

When Sara had first come there it was just her, so she had been able to pick her room. She had chosen the one furthest from everything and four days later twin nine-year-old boys had joined them. They had stated from the start they would not be separated, and Joyce had bought a bunk for them. Three days after that an eight-year-old girl had come along and five days after that a twelve-year-old boy. Yet Woody's Ranch didn't feel crowded. There was plenty of space for everyone, which allowed Sara to isolate herself.

The living room's décor would be considered country chic, and even Sara had to admit it was pretty. She currently sat on the loveseat, with Chloe seated beside her on the left and Daniel seated in the wingback chair to her right.

Mrs. Stock set a try of snickerdoodles and fruit punch on the ottoman, "I have asked the kids to stay outside. There is plenty for them to do and you three should have some privacy once I close the doors." She nodded to the detectives and gave Sara an encouraging smile. She left the living room, closing the double doors.

Sara bit her upper lip and waited for the bombardment of questions.

"I understand this is going to be hard," Daniel started off, "and if at any time we need to stop and take a break, just let us know."

Sara nodded.

"Let's start when the shooter walked in." Chloe had taken her hand and drawn her attention, "What is the first thing you heard?"

This was not the line of questioning Sara was expecting, but she went with it. "It was the door slamming open, but my first thought was that the wind must have caught it. It wasn't till I heard the first gunshot that I knew something was wrong."

Chloe smiled at her, "And where were you when the door slammed open?"

"I was standing at the counter, my mom and I…" her breath hitched, and Chloe squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"It's okay. Take your time."

Sara nodded and shoved those pesky feelings back down, took a deep breath and continued, "I had been there for about ten minutes. Mom had gone to the back to work on some shipping orders, Cora was at the register and Matt was cleaning the floor in the lobby."

Chloer nodded, "You were facing the register and you heard the door open but didn't turn around till you heard the gunshot." Sara nodded. "Before you heard the gunshot, did you hear Matt Foster say or shout anything?"

"You mean like, 'Run Sara, he's got a gun,'" she asked rolling her eyes. "No nothing. The door slammed open and seconds later there was a gun shot. It was loud enough to make my ears ring. I spun around with my hands over my ears and that's when I saw Matt lying on the floor."

It was Daniel who asked, "And after you noticed Mr. Foster, what happened?"

The Event was coming up quick and Sara wasn't sure she could talk about it. "I noticed a 44 pointed at my chest and he was yelling at me."

"Okay," Chloe stopped her. "I want you to focus on the shooters face. What can you tell me about him?"

Again, the questions took a turn Sara wasn't expecting. But happily, this was something she could do easily. It was the second most thought about moment in her head, what the man who destroyed her family looked like. Sara's eyes became unfocused as she put herself back in the moment she turned. While it was true, she had first noticed Matt and the gun, it was the man's face she had focused on.

"Short dirty blonde hair, with dark roots, parted to the right. No scars, one ear pierced," she grabbed the top of her left ear, "a single silver stud here. His eyes looked hazel, but they were… they were off. The color I mean." She closed her eyes to focus on those few seconds before he shot her. He was shaking the gun at her and his eyes were looking down, but they suddenly looked up and she realized why the color had seemed off. Her eyes shot open, "He was wearing green contacts. I saw them move in his eyes right before he…" she stumbled over saying it but took a breath and finished. "Right before he shot me."

"This is good Sara," Daniel told her writing on his note pad. "Do you think you are up to sitting down with a sketch…

"Yes," Sara blurted out before he could finish. "Sorry, it's just remembering the man who… well, who took my family from me, is the easiest part of all this. It is something I think about all the time. I need to help find him. He needs to be punished for what he did." There was venom in her voice and neither detective missed it. Chloe also noticed this was the first time Sara was so animated.

"He will be," she told Sara . "We will find him, and he will pay for what he did."

"I don't want him to pay." Sara said shaking her head. "I want him to suffer." She lowered her voice and it came out more of a growl, "I want him to feel what it's like to have a bullet rip through his body, to have the most important person in his life taken from him. To lose his family."

There was a sad look in Chloe's eyes. "Sara, that's revenge."

Without a second thought, "Right now, I can live with that. I can live with him being hurt like that."

Both detectives nodded. They had seen many survivors of gun violence react this way. "Let's return to the shooting." Daniel redirected. "In all this commotion, where was the cashier, Cora Bledsoe? We found her in the bathroom, and she states she ran in there when the shooter first came in."

Rewinding her brain, Sara thought back to the last time she had seen Cora. It was at the register and she was sure Cora had been there when the gun shot had gone off. "I was facing her when he walked in, so I know she was still at the register when the first gunshot went off. After I turned my back on her, I lost track of her. But I do know she wasn't there when…" _When The Event happened. _Sara finished that thought in her head.

There was a look of concern that passed between Chloe and Daniel, which Sara didn't miss, "What? What am I missing?"

Chloe released her hand and rubbed them together, "If Cora was at the register, she would have seen Matt get shot. She says she left the register before any shots were fired."

Sara thought for a second, going over the events in her head, even pantomiming putting the coffee lids on the counter. Nope, she could see Cora clear as day at the register. She was literally looking right at the door, fidgeting with the key to the register. "No, she's mistaken. She was at the register when Matt was murdered. She was facing the door when he was shot, she would have seen the whole thing."

Chloe nodded, "Okay, go to after you were shot. You are lying on the ground. Again, what do you hear?"

The Event. The spot in the timeline Sara has been avoiding thinking about, but at the same time it was the only thing she thought about. Here is where her resolve started to waiver. She wanted to help them find her mom and Matt's killer, but that annoying ach was back in her chest. She tried taking a deep breath, it didn't help. She took three more, and still the ach stayed where it was, but it wasn't growing. Sara bit her lip hard to try and get her brain to focus, it helped a little. "I was…" Sara started to say but her mouth was suddenly dry. She grabbed one of the untouched cups of fruit punch and downed half of it. It didn't help, her mouth still felt dry and she realized the ach in her chest started to feel like it was tightening. "I'm sorry," she finally said. "I can't." Sara was clutching at the necklace sitting at her throat, her thumb running over the smooth face if the jewel.

Chloe was reaching out to her when the double doors behind them burst open, causing Sara to scream out in fear and cover her ears and duck her head. She was vaguely aware of a voice with a British accent speaking behind her.

"Hello, Detective."

Whatever he had been ready to say, Sara's scream cut him short. All the emotions she had been holding in check overcame her and she shut down. She hung her head, letting her hand cover her face as a wave of sobs racked her body.

"Damn it, Lucifer!" Daniel was yelling at the intruder. She felt Chloe leave her side and Daniel took her place. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in. "It's alright," he rubbed her arms soothingly. She could hear Chloe's voice behind her.

"I told you," her voice was low but harsh, "we don't need you for this one. You just scared the hell out of our only reliable witness."

"Oh, come now Detective," the British voice said with an exacerbated sigh, "as if you could solve a case without me."

There was another hiss from Chloe and the voices moved out of the house and onto the porch. Meanwhile Sara tried to take a deep breath between sobs, but all that happened were harder sobs and to make matters worse between her jerking her right hand up to cover her ear and the sobs that were shaking her shoulder, waves of pain were radiating though her entire right arm.

She was done.

Sara stood up and was a little surprised when Daniel let her, "I'm sorry Daniel, but I can't. It hurts to much for me to talk about The Event." Her left thumb was running over the face of the stone at her throat.

Daniel nodded his head as he stood up with her, "I understand. I'm sorry about our civilian consultant, he is kind of a dick." This brought a slight smile to her face. "Tell you what," he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a laminated card, "take this. When you think you are ready, give me a call. We can set a time for you to sit down with a sketch artist."

Sara took the card and glanced at it. "I will." She walked him to the front door and Sara could see Chloe still talking avidly with the man Daniel had called Lucifer, near a jet-black convertible. She could also see the other four kids hanging out by the barn eying said car. She jerked her head towards them, "I take it he's the dick."

There was a moment of disgust on Daniel's face, but he masked it quickly, "Yea, again I apologies for him, because god knows he won't."

The man stopped talking to Chloe and glanced towards the porch. "Detective Douche, please do not bring my father into this!" he shouted to them.

Sara was a little taken back. It wasn't as if they were that far from them, but Daniel hadn't made the statement very loudly. To top it off, had he really just called Daniel a douche. She looked over at Daniel, "You're wrong. He's not a dick." Sara could practically hear Daniel's eyes rolling in his head. "He's an asshole."

There was a little snort from Daniel and Sara grinned. "Most people think the man's charming."

"How charming can a man be named Lucifer be." Sara took a seat in one of the four rockers on the porch, "I mean come on. That's like naming your kid Damien. What were his parents thinking?"

Daniel was grinning by now. By then Chloe had returned but Lucifer stayed by the convertible. "Sorry about that Sara." She looked over at Daniel, "I'm going to ride with Lucifer. We're going to head over to Cora Bledsoe and see if she changes her statement."

Sara didn't miss the way Daniel's body tensed, "So he's going to be working with us on this one now?"

Chloe shook her head, "He's helpful Dan." She turned back to Sara. "If we have any more questions we'll be back."

Sara stood, "As long as he," she pointed towards Lucifer, "doesn't come, I'm fine with that."


	5. Hell Isn't Just a Metaphor

**Lucifer: More Than My Own Existence**

_**Chapter 5**_

_**Hell Isn't Just a Metaphor**_

Sara sat on the front porch swing, watching as the both Detectives and their jerk of a consultant drove off. She wasn't sure why she had taken such an instant dislike to their civilian consultant. It was like having a dream where someone upsets you or pisses you off and you wake up still made at them. It also felt like her anger towards the consultant was misdirected, and given her current state of mind, it might be.

It was Mrs. Stock opening the door and calling out to the other kids that dinner was ready the jolted Sara out of her own mind.

"Oh sorry, dear," she stated when she saw Sara jump a little. "Dinner is ready, Joyce made lasagna."

She nodded her thanks, "I'll get the others." She got to her feet and headed towards the barn, where she knew the others had scattered to. She rounded the corner, "Guys, Joyce made lasagna and it's ready."

* * *

Michael watched as Sara herded the other kids into the house. He hadn't been lying when he told Sara he would watch her carefully. He had watched her struggle through her first round of physical therapy after she had been released. He had watched as she was brought to this halfway home and stayed at her bedside the first night, while she cried herself to sleep, and he had been with her on the cliff when she released Liz's ashes. He had nearly laughed out loud when she had called his twin an asshole. He had to admit, not much about his brother had changed. Human emotions still seemed to escape him completely. Granted the only human emotions Lucifer really cared about were lust and desire, so it shouldn't have surprised him all that much when his brother had insulted the male detective.

Sara paused a moment before going into the house and he took a seat on the railing, watching her. He could tell she was holding back a lot of emotions. The hurt and pain over losing her mom were taking their toll on his daughter and other than just being there watching her, there was not much he could do. He still had not gone to The Silver City to check on Liz. He told himself he would go back when the person responsible for her death was found and punished. But deep down he was scared to face her. He had failed her. The whole reason he left was so she and Sara would be safe and now. Well Liz was dead, and Sara was left on Earth without her mom. How was this safe. Maybe he should have told Raphael to shove it up his feathery ass. No, that would have only made his family find out about Sara and they would have taken her from Liz. This was better. She had been raised by her loving, human mother and that was what was best for her.

"I know you're here."

Michael nearly fell off the railing, when Sara spoke. He knew she couldn't see him, not unless he wanted her too. He watched as she closed her eyes.

"At least I hope it's you Mom." There was a small hitch in her voice, and she stood with the screen door open. "Because if it's not, that means I'm loosing what little mind I have left," she took another deep breath, "and I just don't think I can handle being crazy right now."

Moving cautiously, Michael stood up and moved to stand beside her. He wanted to comfort her. To let her know that he was there watching out for her and no matter what he would keep her safe. He stood there with his hand hovering over his daughters' shoulder. Then she shook her head and walked into the house.

* * *

Back at the precinct Chloe Decker sat at her desk going over the Fenn file. The cashier Cora Bledsoe hadn't been home, but she had been able to get a hold of her by phone and they now had an interview set up for the next day.

"So," her partners' thick British accent was right beside her ear, "I'm thinking the daughter hired someone to rob the place and it got out of hand."

She huffed, "You weren't in that interview, Lucifer. Sara was genuinely upset about what happened, to the point of nearly shutting down. In fact," she turned to face him, "your stunt with the door could have given her a heart attack."

He brushed off her concerns as he took a seat and picked up Elizabeth's photo off the pile. The woman was pretty he could give her that, but not at all his type. To suburb mom and not enough LA hooker. Although he was starting to prefer blondes. "The child's name alone should be enough to warrant bodily harm. Sara Fenn," he mocked.

"What's wrong with the name Sara, and don't say it's boring. Trixie was almost named Sara."

Lucifer shook his head and he propped his feet on her desk. "It's the combination of Sara and Fenn. A Seraphim is an order of angles. The highest orders of angles." He tossed the photo back on the desk. "An order I use to belong to, before Dad banished me to hell."

She was wondering how long it would take Lucifer to make this case about himself. "Ah, and you are jealous that a sixteen year old girl is named after them," she smiled to herself. She thought the combination was quiet pretty and Sara seemed like a very sweet girl.

"Do give me some credit, Detective." Lucifer was back on his feet and adjusting his cufflinks. "The devil does not get jealous."

"If you say so," Chloe commented. She looked up and noticed Dan coming towards them and he looked pissed. "Dan, is everything alright?"

"I just got off the phone with Mrs. Stock," Dan informed her, refusing to even acknowledge Lucifer was there. "I tried to set up an appoint for her to come in and sit with a sketch artist."

"That's good right?"

He shook his head, "She's refusing to let Sara come down unless he," he jabbed his middle finger into Lucifer's chest, "isn't here."

Lucifer knocked Dan's hand way, "What did I do?"

"Really, Man," Dan asked squaring off with him. "We were asking her to remember what is probable the worst moment in her young life and then you come bursting into the room like Cosmo Kramer, scaring the hell out of her."

"Well, I'll admit that hell can be scary," lucifer responded, clearly not getting the point Dan was trying to make. "But I still don't see how the guardian's refusal to let the child sit with a sketch artist is my fault."

Dan held up his hands, "You not believing you didn't anything wrong shouldn't surprise me in the least."

"Guys," Chole chided them as she grabbed the sides of her head. "Dan, we're going to have Cora Bledsoe, the cashier, coming in to give a statement. How about Lucifer and I talk to her in interrogation one, while you set up the artist and Sara in O'Hara's office. This way they won't be in the same room. How does that sound?" She was getting a headache and she was sure her ex and her partner were the cause of it.

"I'll call Mrs. Stock and see if she is okay with that." Dan tossed over his shoulder as he walked away, "Make sure to keep him on a leash while she's here."

Lucifer looked stunned at Chloe who was still holding her head in her hands, "Can you believe that? Blaming me for something that clearly isn't my fault."

"Well," she told him looking up at his and folding her arms on her desk, "this time he's right. You scared Sara so bad she shut down. So, we weren't able to finish our interview and now we have to try and set up a time and place, where she feels safe, to continue."

"I cannot be blamed for how others…" he tried to defend himself, but she stood up and stopped him.

"Lucifer, try and think about what Sara just might have been feeling. She was already on edge and you bursting through the doors pushed her over the edge. That's why Dan is upset."

There was a moment where Chloe thought he understood, but that moment passed when Lucifer huffed and walked away from her. She simple shook her head.

* * *

Sara stood at the kitchen skink and watched as Mrs. Stock hung up the phone. The other kids had cleared off the table, leaving Sara to finish cleaning the dishes, when Detective Espinoza had called to set up the sit down with the artist. "That was Detective Espinoza calling back, he says they'll set you up in an office and you won't have to look at Mr. Morningstar."

Sara nodded, "Thank you again for letting them think it was you who didn't want him there instead of me. There is just something about him that irritates me."

Mrs. Stock smiled understanding. "Well, it may have been your idea, but I would have been happy to keep that man from you. I don't like people scaring my charges." She patted Sara on her left shoulder gently, "How about you head upstairs. I'll finish up down here. You need some rest."

She didn't argue with the woman, mainly because it would have done no good. She headed up to her room and got ready for bed.

The doctor wanted her to wear the sling for six more weeks, but it made sleeping difficult. Instead she would remove the sling and simply propped her shoulder up on a pillow. Once she was comfortable, she started thinking about The Event. Remembering every detail perfectly in her head was easy. Seeing every little thing play out in her mind? No problem, but when she would try and talk about it, her mouth would go dry, the feeling of an elephant sitting on her chest would return and her heart rate would skyrocket. She hadn't been lying to Dr. Martin. She knew if she could just talk about the whole situation it would make her feel better, but these panic attacks would always stop her. Just like with the detectives. Not to mention there were things that Sara couldn't talk to anyone about.

Her daddy issues alone would have landed her in a padded room. How do you explain to someone a reason for your depression is the fear of never being able to fly? Seeing as the bullet had ripped it's way through her shoulder and according to the x-rays the doctors had shown her, she now had a perfect hole in her scapula, Sara had been to terified to try and produce her wings. Or the reason your dad was no longer in the picture is because his celestial family have issues with the fact that you were half human so, he can't be with you in your time of need. No, it was better to stick to what most people thought of as sane. A monster had murdered her mom and that and that alone was why she was depressed. Her inability to produce her wings and the truth about her dad, would have to stay hidden.

_She wasn't sure at what point she drifted off but soon she found herself in a dark, ash covered corridor, tall columns of rocks on either side of her. At the base of each column Sara could see doors, some with loose chains wrapped around them, others with nothing baring them shut and even a few of them opened just a crack. She found herself drawn to a door made of light gray wood, no chains, and was surprised when it opened at her gentle touch._

_Sara froze when she stepped through and realized where she was. She had just walked into The Coffee Shop. She could see herself at the counter and her heart dropped when she saw her mom standing at the register. They were talking about the up-coming trip to Lagoona Beach._

"_I already told you Sara, you can drive there but it will probably be too late for you to drive back."_

_Just the sound of her mom's voice nearly brought Sara to tears and caused her chest to hurt It was just as she remembered, and she didn't realize how much she had missed the sound._

"_But Mom, how will I learn to drive if I don't practice?"_

_Sara wondered if she had always been so whinnying. She moved closer and tried to get their attention, but it was as if she wasn't really there, which made no sense to her. She was usually pretty good about controlling her dreams once she realized she was dreaming, but this one seemed off. Before her mom could say anything else the front door burst open. Sara spun around, thinking she knew what she would be met with. She was wrong._

_Instead of the shooter from that day, there was a dark shadow. The only thing about it that was clear was the gun it had pointed at Dream Sara's chest. Both Sara and her mom screamed._

"_NO!"_

_Sara even tried to step in front of the shadow, but the bullet passed right through her and hit Dream Sara in the chest. She fell back against the counter, as her mom ran out from behind it, screaming Sara's name._

"_SARA! No, no, no."_

_She watched helpless as her mom fell to her knees and cradled Dream Sara in her arms trying to stop the bleeding, screaming the whole time. "Please God, NO! Sara, baby, please. Stay with me!" _

_This was all wrong. This was not how The Event went. Her mom never made it out from behind the counter, in fact she wasn't even there when Sara was shot. Not only that but Sara could recall exactly what the shooter looked like, there would be no reason for him to be a formless shadow in her dream, she wasn't scared of him._

_It was her mom's wail of despair that made Sara realize her dream-self had stopped breathing, the shapeless form moved to stand in front of her mother, the gun raised._

_Her mom looked up at the dark form. "Please," she begged, "kill me." It stood there for a moment, then glided out the door, leaving her mom sobbing on the floor, holding her dead daughter, still begging for death._

_Sara's hand flew to her mouth. "O__h no," Sara gasped out as she realized this was not a dream. No matter what, she would never dream of her mom begging to die. She knelt beside her mom._

"_Mom," she pleaded, trying to lay a hand on her shoulder, but the hand just passed through. "Please look at me." Nothing, Liz continued to cry, rocking back and forth. "Mom, this isn't real. This is not real."_

_Still Liz gave no sign that she heard her._

_For some reason, Elizabeth Fenn believed her daughter had died that day in The Coffee Shop and felt such guilt over it that now she had trapped herself in her own personal hell loop. Reliving the day, she watched her daughter die over and over again._

A loud buzzing sound was going off in her ear and it took a moment for Sara to realize it was her alarm.


	6. The Truth Always Comes Out

**Lucifer: More Than My Own Existence**

_**Chapter 6**_

_**The Truth Always Comes Out**_

Sara shot straight up in bed. "Shit!" she hissed as the movement pulled her shoulder and a sharp pain radiated down her entire arm. There were small chuckles from her door and looking up Sara saw two sets of wide brown eyes staring back at her. "Do not tell Mrs. Stock I said that," she told the twins, rubbing at her sore shoulder. The bandage had been removed a week ago, but the red angry scar was still puckered, the skin around it had bruises in varies stages of healing. But all of them formed a perfect circle around the entry. The stitches wouldn't be removed for a few more days.

There were a few more giggles and the boys disappeared. She was sure they were going to rat her out but given she had cursed over her shoulder; she was sure Mrs. Stock would cut her some slack. She had other things on her mind.

She had no idea how she had managed to see her mom, but her mom being in hell was at the front of that. There were plenty of people who would debate whether nor not heaven and hell were real, but when your father was one of the Archangels, that kind of ended the debate for you. Knowing, not only that hell an actual place but the one person in the whole world who didn't deserve to be in hell was there over an event that had not happened, made it even worse for her. She would find a way to get back there and get her mom out.

Sara tossed back the covers, grabbed a pair of jeans and plain maroon t-shirt. The t-shirts where easier to work her arm in with no help. After getting dressed and situating the sling so it was as comfortable as it could be, she grabbed a ponytail holder, slipped it on her wrist with the intent of asking Mrs. Stock if she would pull her hair back in a braid, and headed downstairs. She was a little surprised, only Danny was sitting at the table eating his usual Cheerios.

"Where's everyone else?" she asked as she grabbed a bowl and poured some of the Coco Pebbles.

"Joyce took the other four fishing down at the pond," he answered between bites. Ms. Joyce says they just had it stocked with some trout. I'm heading out to meet them when I'm done." He slurped the last of the milk. "Done."

Sara watched him rinse out his bowl and head out the back door without another word. It dawned on her just how withdrawn she had been these last three weeks. She wasn't hurt not to have been invited, she had the interview at the police station, but she was a little surprised. It wasn't like Joyce to not include everyone.

"Don't feel bad Sara," came Mrs. Stock voice from the doorway of the kitchen. "She was going to ask you, but I reminded her about your appointment today. Although, if you would rather go fishing with the rest of them?"

For a millisecond Sara wanted to say yes. That she would have loved to sit by the pond, soak up the sun, maybe throw a fishing line in to see if the trout would bite, just be a normal teenager for the afternoon. Forget the last three weeks completely. But that ach from seeing her mom in hell, knowing the person who caused her to be there was still out there not being punished stopped her.

"No," she said softly. "It's fine. Like you said I have the appointment with Detective Espinoza."

Dan had just finished settling the sketch artist in O'Hara's office, when he saw Sara and Mrs. Stock through the office window being led towards the office by another officer. He smiled and waved them over. He wouldn't tell her this, but Sara looked like she hadn't gotten a lot of sleep last night. Her hair was pulled back in a messy braid, and the dark circles under her eyes were even more prominent.

"Thanks for coming in." He smiled at them then pointed to the woman sitting on the other side of the desk. "This is Ms. Montenegro, she's on loan to use from the Jeffersonian in Washington DC. She'll be our sketch artist for the day."

Sara nodded, "I kind of figured that, with the paper and colored pencils."

The young woman stood up and came out from behind the desk, smiling brightly as she extended her hand towards Sara. Her hark hair framed her olive tone face and while the hand she offered was slender, Sara could see charcoal marks on the outside of her hand. "Hi Sara, it's nice to meet you. Call me Angela."

Sara took the offered hand and gave Angela a half smile. "It's nice to meet you Angela."

Angela motioned to the empty seats, "Let's get started." She waited while Sara sat in the left one while Mrs. Stock took the one on the right, and then Angela positioned herself directly in front of Sara. The sketch pad and a charcoal pencil sat in her lap. "Why don't you tell me a little about yourself?"

Sara shook her head, "I'm not sure I want to. I'm here to describe the man who killed my mom. Not have a heart to heart with a complete stranger." There was a sharp tap on Sara's left arm.

"Don't be rude, Sara." It was Mrs. Stock. "I'll not have a charge of mine being rude."

Sara looked back at Angela, who didn't seem phased by her impolite comment. "I'm sorry Ms. Montenegro." She looked down at her hands, "I didn't get a lot of sleep last night and I tend to be a little snippy when that happens."

She nodded, "I understand. I just a baby and my husband and I aren't getting a lot of sleep." She set the sketch book and pencil on the desk, reached over and took Sara's left hand. "I know my questions are going to seem a bit odd, and truth be told they might not make a lot of sense to you. But trust me, they will help me paint a better picture of your mother's killer, I promise."

Sara nodded, but she really didn't see how talking about herself would help Angela draw her mom's killer.

"Alright then," Angela picked up her sketch book and flipped to a clean sheet. "Before all this happened, what would you in your free time?"

Lucifer waited till Detective Douche had settled the girl and her guardian in the office before coming out of the interrogation room. The Detective had 'requested' he stay in there till Dan settled the two of them and drew the blinds. He figured with their backs towards the window that would be good enough, considering Dan had not yet pulled the blinds.

He noticed Chloe walking towards her desk and headed towards her, "Well the child and her guardian are here." He nodded towards the office. "And I believe Ms. Bledsoe should be here any moment."

Chloe picked up the Fenn file and nodded, "An officer is escorting her up here now." She motioned towards the interrogation room, "After you."

Before Lucifer could lead the way, his phone rang. "I'm sorry." He pulled his phone out of his inside breast pocket and was about to click ignore when he noticed it was Amenadiel. Considering his brother never called him, he figured it was better to answer. "I had better take this Detective." He didn't wait for an answer, just turned and headed towards the elevator for a little privacy.

Chloe rolled her eyes but at that moment she noticed a uniformed officer directing Cora Bledsoe towards her. "Thank you for coming." She held the door open and Cora walked in.

"I just have a few follow up questions." She took a seat across from Cora and opened the file. "So, you told Detective Espinoza that morning you were at the register?" Cora had her hands in her lap, her spine straight as an iron rod, and only responded with a sharp nod. "At what point did you leave the register?"

"Before the shooter walked in." It was clipped and sounded incredibly rehearsed.

Chole nodded as if what Cora said confirmed something, "Alright, so before that you were facing the door, correct." Another sharp nod. "And what made you leave the register?"

It was clear she hadn't practiced for these kinds of questions. "I…I don't understand why that's important."

Smiling Chloe closed the file and laid it down, "We're just trying to get a clear picture of everything that happened that day. So, what made you leave your register?"

"I needed to go to the bathroom."

"And do you often leave the register opened and unattended?"

"Well, of course not," Cora blurted out.

"So why did you leave it this time?"

"I didn't leave it open."

Chloe opened the file again. "But you did leave the register. I have a statement from Sara Fenn that says she saw the register was opened before the shooting started and that you were nowhere to be seen."

Cora rolled her eyes, "Sara had her back to me, plus she was in shock and bleeding, her memory is mistaken."

"Sara says she didn't turn around until after the first shots were fired. You say you left he register before the shooter walked in," Chloe countered as she closed the file, and leaned across the table, "Sara would have been facing you when the shooter walked in. She would have seen you leave and whether or not the register was opened. Perfect view." Chloe leaned back, "Now, if you left right as or right after the shooter walked in then Sara's back would have been to you. So, which is it?"

"Well… I mean… I guess I might have been at the register, but I saw the gun and ran. I know it was a cowardly thing to do but I was scared. I mean the guy had just shot Matt. What was I supposed to do?"

The doors behind Chole opened and Lucifer walked in, "I'm so sorry to interrupt but I am a little confused. Now I wasn't there when the Detective interview the child, but I am pretty sure the report I read said the child saw you at the counter right up until Matt was killed." He took a seat next to Chloe, "So that means you saw the shooter walked in with a gun, you saw Matt get shot and rather than warn the child, you ran away and just happened to leave the cash drawer opened?"

Cora looked flustered. Her eyes were darting between Lucifer and Chloe. "Well… I mean there was a lot going on." Her eyes landed on Lucifer, "Wait a minute, I know you. You were there right after it happened."

"Of course I was there. The Detective and I are working the case together."

Cora shook her head, "No, you were there before the detectives got there. You were wearing a white t-shirt and jeans."

"See, I would never wear jeans." Just the thought of denim touching his skin was enough to make him feel violently ill. "Besides we are getting off topic." He fixed his gaze on the woman in front of him, reached over and took her hand. "Tell me Cora, what did you desire? What is it you really wanted?"

Chloe had seen this so many times, Lucifer would get bored and want to speed the investigation a long so he would use his mojo thing.

"I… I wanted Liz to stop favoring Matt," she finally stuttered out. "He was a drug addict and she still wouldn't fire him. He wasted his money on drugs, but did Elizabeth fire him? No! She fricking paid for his rehab. And when that looser relapsed, she still wouldn't fire him. She created a whole new job and let the pathetic excuse of a human keep working there. No, I needed her to see that Matt was bad news."

Lucifer still had her hand and kept his eyes focused on her, "How were you going to get what you desired dear lady?"

"Vince."

"Whose Vince," Chloe asked.

"My cousin. He…" She blinked and pulled her hand out of Lucifer's grasp. "I… I… I think I…" she blinked again realizing what she had just said. "I think I want my lawyer."

"Yes," Sara told Angela when she turned the sketch towards her. "That's him." She took a deep breath; it was like Angela had pulled the image of the shooter right from her mind and put him on paper. The dirty blonde hair, the silver stud in his left ear, even his muddy brown eyes. Granted there were a second pair of eyes with hazel coloring in the margin of the picture, due to the colored contacts Sara remembered him wearing. She reached out to take the sketch from her carefully. "You are amazing. I don't think I have ever seen a more life-like portrait."

Angela gave her a big smile as she go to her feet, "Well I only drew what you saw. And I have to say, you were very detailed oriented. Most times I do this it's hard to get the person to focus on the little things."

Sara handed to sketch to Detective Espinoza, who took it and slid it into a large manila folder, as Angela made her way to the door. "I have a fairly decent memory. Again, thank you." Sara stood up to shake her hand.

Angela paused at the door but didn't take the offered hand, instead she pulled Sara into a tight embrace. "I am so sorry for your loss Sara. Truly I am."

It took a moment of stunned silence before Sara returned the kind gesture. She closed her eyes and gave her a tight hug, nodding her thanks. When Sara opened her eyes, she was facing the window looking out of the office and into the precinct. That's when she noticed Cora being escorted between two officers. "What's Cora doing here?" She released Angela and before anyone could stop her, she was out the office door and standing in front for her former co-worker.

"Cora? What's going on?" Cora refused to meet her eyes. Sara looked from the two officers back to Cora, her eyebrows furrowing once she noticed the handcuffs. "Did… did you have something to do with my mom's death?"

Cora still refused to meet her eyes, looking everywhere but at Sara. She could feel her temper starting to rise to the surface when Cora refused to answer her. She barely noticed that Detective Espinoza had taken her by her left arm and was trying to lead her away. She also didn't notice Detective Decker and Lucifer were starting to make their way over to them. Sara just shook her head.

"No," she shook off Dan's grip, her left-hand latching onto Cora's right arm squeezing, "Look at me Cora!" Sara's voice carried through the precinct and a few of the other officers and staff actually stopped what they were doing to look over at the commotion. The woman tried not to but was compelled to look at the young girl in front of her. "Now tell me the truth! What do you have to do with my mom's death!"

"I hired my cousin Vince to make it look like Matt's dealer was robbing the place. I told him there would be about three hundred in the register and he could keep it. But it got out of hand when Vince shot Matt. He panicked."

"Panicked! He shot my mom three times point blank! He then shot Matt in the chest just because he wouldn't let go of his leg! That wasn't panic! That was murder!" Sara was seeing red now and her grip on Cora's arm tightened, she kept her eyes locked on the woman her mother had considered a friend. "Tell me the truth, why did you do this?"

"Because Matt was a drug addict. I had to make her see. Matt was an evil person."

Sara shoved Cora's arm away from her because she could no longer stand touching it. "No." Moving fast before anyone could stop her, Sara balled up her left fist, taking care to not tuck her thumb, and punched Cora in the face. The two officers weren't quick enough, and Cora went down. Sara towered over her, "You are the evil one. If I ever see you again, I swear to whatever God you believe in that I will end you."

Dan wrapped his arm around her waist and Sara finally allowed him to lead her away as the sting of tears filled her eyes. He led her back to the office they had been using and set her in a chair. It looked as if Angela had already left and Mrs. Stock was right there beside her talking to Dan. "What was that about?" Apparently, she hadn't heard the conversation, but she had seen Sara hit Cora. Rather than go into detail about how Cora had betrayed her mom and gotten her killed, Sara just looked at the woman and pleaded, "Can we please just go home?"

Mrs. Stock nodded, "I'll go get the car." She gave Dan a quick nod and left.

Dan knelt in front of Sara, "I'm so sorry Sara. I should have pulled the blinds down. You weren't supposed to see her leaving."

She wasn't sure what to say. If Dan had pulled the blinds, Cora would never have confessed, and she wouldn't now know who was responsible for her mom's death. Yes, Vince might have pulled the trigger and Sara was very sure there would be a special place in hell for him, but Cora had been the one to hire him to try and teach her mom a lesson. A lesson Liz and Matt had paid for with their lives.

Fighting back a sob that wanted so badly to tear through her, Sara shoved that emotion to the back and tried to focus on the next step. "Will she be charged with murdering my mom and Matt?"

"Well," Dan told her looking out the office window. "She did just confess to planning the robbery, and she did give a motive. She'll be taken into custody and we'll get some uniformed officers staking out Vince's place. So, it's looking pretty good." He looked back to her, "How did you get her to confess like that?"

Sara shrugged her shoulders. Truth be told, she had no idea how she got Cora to tell the truth. She just knew she wanted the truth about what why her mom was gone, and she knew Cora knew something. Granted she never figured Cora hated Matt enough to orchestrate something like this. "I don't know, I just needed to know the truth and I knew Cora had it."

Dan looked skeptical but didn't press the issue. "I'll go see if Mrs. Stock is ready with the car."

He left the room and Sara stood up and headed towards the window. Her shoulders slumped, and the tears fell freely. Her mind was in turmoil as she gazed out over the busy streets of LA. Cora. It was Cora who was responsible for her mom's death. Cora, who had been a mentor to her when she was old enough to start working at the Coffee Shop. Cora, Cora Cora. It was all Cora's fault. But she wasn't the only one to blame. Oh no. Cora hadn't pulled the trigger. Cora hadn't shot Matt, turned the gun on Sara, shot and nearly killed her, and then murdered her mother. Oh no, Vince had plenty of blame coming his way as well. Vince needed to be punished, more than Cora.

Sara's shock over discovering what Cora had done quickly turned to anger. Anger at her and anger at Vince. But even after punching the bitch Sara still felt the need to hurt something else. And then who should walk through the door? The one only other person she didn't like. Lucifer Morningstar.

"How did you do that?" His thick British accent grated on Sara's nerves and that feeling of being mad at him for something she was sure had nothing to do with him was back. He stood with his back to the door blocking it, but she didn't feel trapped.

Quickly wiping the tears from her face Sara turned to face him, crossed her arms and glared at him. "I have no idea what you are talking about." Of course, she did but she wouldn't tell him that. She wasn't sure what had compelled her to grab Cora's arm like she had, or how she had made her tell the truth. All she knew was that she had been furious at Cora's betrayal and had wanted the woman to tell her the truth right then and there. She had felt a sensation behind her eyes, but it wasn't a sting, like fighting back tears. No this was a burning, like a rage trying to get out, and she had directed it at Cora, and Cora had told her the truth about what she had done to cause her mom's death.

"Oh, I think you do know exactly what I am talking about." He moved towards her, but Sara refused to flinch. She stood her ground. "How were you able to get that wretched woman to tell you the truth?"

He was right in front of her now and it was hard for her to look away. Not that she would, she met his fierce gaze. "I do not know what you are talking about," she growled out.

"Oh really." He reached for her left arm and she had to fight really hard not to pull away when he gripped it firmly. "Tell me then, what do you desire from Cora?"

Lucifer's eyes were focused and intense. She could feel a pull from him, wanting her to tell him her desire, but that was all it was. She was aware of it but felt no obligation to tell this arrogant man anything.

She stared back at him refusing to answer and waited. After a few moments he spoke.

"So, you're a complicated one, well then." He squared his shoulders and she swore his eyes widened for a moment. "What do you truly desire, Miss Sara Fenn?"

The pull intensified. She still felt no compulsion to answer him, but she did, "I desire," she spit back at him as she jerked her arm out of his grasp, "my mom back." This was what she was really made at. Even though Cora and Vince would be caught and punished, Liz and Matt would still be dead, and Sara would go on missing her mom.

She finally took a step back. "I desire for us to be a family again, and I desire for none of this to have happened to Matt and her. Or me." There was no stopping the flow of tears now and she wished she could hold them back. Not that she cared what Mr. Morningstar thought of her, but she didn't want to show him any kind of weakness. She took a step towards him and was actually surprised to see him not only take a step back but a look of confusion on his face as tears fell from hers. "Can you make that happen Mr. Morningstar? Can you bring my mom back to me?" She kept advancing, "Can you rewind time and keep Vince from killing Matt, shooting me and murdering my mom?" He was now back against the wall beside the door, still confused. "No, you can't."

She kept staring at him, and after a moment the confusion left his face, but his normal arrogant grin didn't return. It wasn't pity, the closest thing she could think of was understanding.

"You truly miss her, don't you? Your mum?" Sara nodded. He glanced at the door. "My mother recently," he hesitated. "Well let's just say she went somewhere I will never be able to follow. I will never see her again and I think I understand how you are feeling." This time when he took her arm it was gently and with an understanding no one but Detective had shown her.

She didn't care if this man had been an ass, he knew what it was like to lose his mom and right now that was what she needed. Not someone to fix the problem, or tell her it would be okay, or that everything happened for a reason. She just needed someone to understand how much she missed her mom and how angry she was about it.

She threw her arms around his waist and continued to cry. There was a moment where he hesitated but soon one arm found its way on her shoulder while the other one rested on her head. He didn't hug her back, but it was enough to make some of the hurt she was feeling, recede. Just a little. Maybe Mr. Morningstar wasn't so bad.


	7. Side Chapter

**Lucifer: More Than My Own Existence**

_**Chapter Side Note**_

_**Taken**_

Michael stood at the top of the precinct's stairs and watched as his twin comforted his daughter, feeling a little jealous Lucifer could be there physical for her while he had to keep his distance. He couldn't be prouder of Sara, not only had she solved Liz's murder, but she had discovered another ability. While Lucifer's powers were to draw out a human's inner desire, Michael's was to draw out their absolute truth. A power he seemed to have passed on to his daughter.

He turned to leave, now that Liz's murders were going to be punished, he needed to return to the Silver City. He needed to see Liz.

"You are a tricky one to locate, Michael." The voice was gravely and came from an un-naturally dark corner. "She will at least be happy I found you."

Michael halted trying to see into the darkness. "Show yourself."

What crept out of the dark would have given humans nightmares. The body was human looking but was too short for the legs and arms, which hung close enough to the ground that in the creatures current hunched state cause them to drag along the floor. The creature barely came to Michaels hip, and the head sat at an odd angle, given it a broken look. Its toothy grin showed black gums and yellow teeth. And his eyes were so sunken in, if it wasn't for the un-natural yellow glow of them, it would have been impossible to tell the creature had any. It was a belialzen, a demon older than the Lilim, one of the original creatures of Hell

"Need I remind you," Michael told it, crossing his arms, "my brother has banished your kind to the very bowels of hell." Michael wasn't afraid of the vile creature in front of him, why should he be. When Lucifer had been banished to Hell it was not the empty waste lands most religions made it out to be. There were creatures that were already there. Creatures that had tried to refuse Lucifer's rule of hell. Then Father had made it so that only an Angel could sit on Hells throne and Lucifer had banished the Belialzen and their ruler to the deepest part of Hell. As far as Michael knew, she was still sore about it.

"Oh, I need no reminder, but your brother is not in hell now." He cast a glance past Michael and his grin widened. "A lot of things have changed in the usurpers absence. His loyal subjects may no longer be as loyal has he thinks."

"What are you doing here?" Michael didn't care about the politics of hell, only in getting to heaven to see Elizabeth.

A grin spread across the creature's face, or at least something what should have resembled a smile. Its' lips split to show its rotten yellow teeth. "She sent me to seek you out. She wishes a word with you."

Michael ignored the creature, walking past it towards the exit. "What makes you think I would answer a summons from your Queen? She can rot in the deepest part of Hell for all eternity." He pushed open the precinct's doors out into the sunshine but noticed that the creature kept to the deepening shadows of the buildings. Belialzen' s had a habit of bringing darkness with them wherever they went. If Michael wanted to use his wings to get to heaven to see his beloved, he would need somewhere a little more private and he was sure this creature would follow. He turned down the alley between the police station and the cupcake shop.

"Queen Belial is not summoning you," the creature said from the darkness. "That would imply she thinks of you as an equal." His voice lowered and there was a hint of distain. "If you refuse to meet, she requested I inform you there are those you care about who will suffer." Its eyes flicked to the police precinct behind him.

That did it. Wings flew out of his back as Michael spun towards the creature, grabbing his arounds it's crooked throat and slammed it against the alley wall. "YOU WILL NOT THREATEN MY FAMILY!" _How did this vile creature even know he had a daughter, more importantly, how dare it threaten her_? He tightened his grip and the creature clawed at his hands. "You will return to that whore you call a queen and remind her who I am. I do not answer to her or her pathetic minions."

There was a brief flash of fear in the creature's eyes. But it was momentarily and quickly replaced with a sly look. "Queen Belial was right," the creature stopped struggling and let its mammoth arms fall to its side. "You and the usurper do share a temper."

Michael let his eyes flash, to prove the creature wasn't wrong. While his twins' eyes would flash red with hellfire, his would flash blue with divine light. "Do not test me belialzen, I can and will end you."

This caused an un-nerving sound to rise up from the creatures' throat. It sounded like boulders rubbing together and it took Michael a moment to realize it was laughing. "What is so funny?"

"You are." The creature's eyes flicked behind Michael and too late he realized his mistake. The jab at his daughter's safety had been a distraction. He had been so focused on the creature in his hand that he hadn't heard or sensed the one behind him. There were not a lot of things that could rendered an archangel unconscious, a club made with Hell forged metal was one of them. The blow took him on the right side of his head, causing him to drop the first belialzen and fall to his hands and knees. The second blow took him in his side and Michael felt a few ribs crack. The broken ribs would be no big deal, he would heal quickly, but right now they hurt like hell. And now there were two belialzen demons he needed to deal with. He tried to locate the second belialzen but there was blood running in his right eye, and it seemed like the first one now had the same weapon as the second. He felt the club come down on his back and his hands slipped out from under him, causing him to face plant onto the concreate.

"Oh, silly little Michael," the first creature was leering over him. "You have no idea what is going on now." Another blow, this time to the left side of his head, the force of it causing him to flip onto his back. Giving the second creature access to his abdomen, which he took full advantage of. What little air there was left in his lungs, left him. It was now impossible for Michael to see anything other than red. "Do not worry. We know better than to go after your brother. You were the target, although I am surprised how angry you became when the usurper was threatened." The creature slammed the club into his side and Michael flipped again, landing heavily on his chest.

Of course, the threat had been against Lucifer. This actually made Michael feel a little better. It meant Sara was safe from these despicable creatures. He on the other hand was in trouble.

While still trying to catch his breath, he felt the creatures pull his arms painfully behind his back, clamping something onto his wrists, causing them to burn. A swift kick to his unprotected head and Michael's world went black.


	8. Two Years Later

**More Than My Own Existence**

_**Chapter 7**_

_**Two Years Later**_

Two years after the shooting and every now and then it still hurt. Not as much as those first three months but the pain was still there. Dr. Martin was always telling her the pain would come in waves and she wasn't wrong. Unfortunately, sometimes those waves were more like tsunami's crashing over her.

Sara had just started putting the groceries away. One of the not fun things about no longer being a minor and under the care of the State, you were responsible for shopping for your own food, and putting them away. It was convenient that her mom had taken a life insurance policy on herself. It still meant Sara had to get a real job, but there was some padding when unexpected expenses popped up. Like hitting eighteen and having to find a place of her own. She had managed to find a cute little two-bedroom house within walking distance to the U of SC and was able to talk the landlord down on the price. Not to mention the job at a local coffee shop, something she didn't think she would be able to do, but she still saw Dr. Martin once a month and she had told her it would be a good thing.

Her phone started ringing and she was little surprised to see Mrs. Stock's number pop up on the caller id. It had only been three months since she turned eighteen, but she had stayed close to Mrs. Stock and the kids at Woody Ranch. She swiped the phone off the counter on the third ring and flipped it open, yes it was a flip phone. An old Razer to be exact, no extra features, phone calls and texts only. While there was a camera, it was a POS camera, and Sara never used it. "Mrs. Stock haven't heard from you in a few months. How is everything going?"

There was a lot of back-ground noises and Sara figured Mrs. Stock was driving at least two of her wards to some appointment or event. Unlike Sara, Mrs. Stock's phone most likely had Bluetooth and she was running it through her car stereo. This was confirmed when a high-pitched voice answered, "SAAARRRAAA! Save Us." It was quickly followed by giggles.

"Kids!" This was Mrs. Stock's voice, gentle but definitely firm. "Sorry Sara, I have Mattie, Natali, and Chans in the car with me. Mattie and Nat have a choir concert while Mr. Chans… Chans! Sit on Your Bottom! Do not make me pull over!" Sara chuckled herself at that one. "Sorry, Chans has a band concert. And I have a favor."

Sara shut the fridge door and started to pull her shoes back on. There were three of the four members of the Brat Pack, which meant Alysyn was still at school. It wasn't the easiest thing to coordinate four different school schedules. So, it would be perfectly understandable for Mrs. Stock to have double booked events.

"Alysyn is at school and needs to be picked up. She's bringing a friend home to study and since I haven't gotten around to removing your name from the Pick-up List, would you be…"

"I would be happy to help," Sara interrupted, tying her shoes. "It'll give me a chance to see the Brats and catch up." She snagged her keys from the hook, "Aly still go to West JR?"

The other kids got unusually quiet and this caused Sara to stop in her tracks.

"No, we had an incident with Aly's parents. Her mom tried to pull her out of her old school and beat up a teacher when they wouldn't let her. Broke her wrist and nose. She's back in jail and Aly has been transferred to East Jackson Middle School."

Sara rubbed the bridge of her nose. This would be the fifth school Aly would be attending. "So, I'll pick up Aly and her friend. Does she still have her phone?" Another pause.

"We had to trade it in. Her father found the number and well, it was a huge issue. But I can give you her new number."

Even though Mrs. Stock couldn't see, Sara shook her head, "No it's fine. Just call the school and have the girls meet me at the office. I'll see you and the Brat Pack soon."

There were a couple screams of 'Bye Sara' right as she hung up. She let out a small chuckle, snagged the keys off the table and headed out, feeling excited to be able to see the Brats again.

On the drive to East Jackson Middle School, Sara thought back to when Aly had first come to Woody's. It had been eight months after Sara had gotten Cora Bledsoe to admit to orchestrating her mom's death, and Sara was still in a dark place. She had been angry at everyone and everything. Dr. Martin had comment that Sara seemed more withdrawn then before and was trying her best to pull Sara back from that ledge. As with a lot of things in life, fate stepped in.

Alysyn was only eight, and a little wisp of a thing. Dark brown eyes, and hair to match. She wouldn't talk to anyone and refused to look anyone in the face. There was still a fresh bandage on her head, and fresh cuts on her face. Sara leaned it where her father had thrown a half empty glass beer bottle at her. It had shattered and it was only luck the glass had not cut Aly's eye.

As was the custom at Woody, the other foster kids were there on the porch to greet the new kid. Sara had been assigned to show Aly around, because she was the oldest of them and for the first time since Sara had gotten there, Woody Ranch was almost full. There were only two rooms open for Aly to pick. But the little girl refused to give an answer when asked which one she wanted, so Sara had chosen for her.

What really got Sara to take Aly under her wing, happened a week after Aly got there. It was a Monday and only Sara and Aly were home, the other kids wouldn't be home for an hour, and it turned out, that was good thing. Aly was at the kitchen table and working on her homework, the girl still hadn't spoken more than 'thank you' and those were always spoken so softly you weren't sure she had said anything at all. Sara had finished her homework, she may have been depressed but she would not let her school work suffer. She was reading comfortably on the couch in the living room.

There was the sound of a truck engine thundering up the dirt drive, and Sara closed her book. The sound put her on edge, and she glanced to Aly, who had frozen. The sound of the truck skidding to a halt and a door being opened and then slammed shut caused Sara to get to her feet. She could see out the window and just past the porch sat a blue Ford pick-up with a greasy, bearded-haired man in the driver seat and a skinny trashy looking woman standing beside the passenger side. You didn't need to be Sherlock to know these were the Browning's, Aly's parents.

Sara turned to Aly to tell her to stay put and was surprised to find she was not at the table, but under it.

"I WANT MY DAUGHTER! ALY, GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE, NOW!"

Sara grabbed the portable phone and went to Aly, kneeling down and lifting the tablecloth to see under the table. The girl's knees were pulled to her chest, her face hidden by her hair and she was visibly shaking. "Aly, it's okay." She put a reassuring hand on the girl's arm. "You are not going anywhere." She handed the phone to her, "Call nine, one, one. I'll go keep them busy."

Aly looked up fear swimming in her tear-filled eyes, "No, please." She dropped the phone from her hand and reached to hold onto Sara's arm. "They'll hurt you. That's what they do."

This was the first time she had spoken more than one word. Sara smiled reassuringly, picked up the phone, dialed 911 and handed it back to the frightened girl. "Not if I hurt them first. I promise, they will not lay a hand on you."

"ALYSYN! DO NOT MAKE ME TELL YOU AGAIN!"

Sara let the tablecloth fall, blocking out Aly's protest, went to the closet and grabbed the driver from Joyce's golf bag. There was also a baseball bat, but Sara knew a golf club driver could deliver more damage per square inch than a bat. Not to mention, she could put more power behind her swing with a driver than a bat.

She opened the front door and stepped out on to the porch, keeping the club down but in full view. "You need to leave!" she yelled at the two of them. "This is private property and I know Mrs. Stock and Joyce will press charges."

Mrs. Browning sauntered up towards the porch, "You here that Kenneth? This little bitch thinks she can keep me from my baby."

"I hear," the man Kenneth called from the truck. "Kick her ass Kimmy."

Twirling the club, Sara slowly descended the steps, "I am warning you. Do not push this." She stopped still well out of reach of Kimmy.

She grinned and Sara wasn't surprised to see the woman's teeth were stained yellow. If there could be a poster couple of red neck hillbillies, these two would be on it. "I see your mama didn't teach ya to respect your elders. Guess I'll have to do it."

Sara adjusted her grip more towards the middle of the club, kept it pointed down and didn't move. She knew she needed to let this white trash make the first move. She wasn't disappointed.

Kimmy charged at her, and when she was a few feet from her two things happened. The first, Sara could smell booze and weed rolling off of her in waves. The second, Sara side stepped to the left and brought the club straight up, letting the club and Kimmy do all the work. There was a solid thunk as the end connected with Kimmy's chin. As the momentum carried Kimmy past her Sara brought the club down, the end landing perfectly in the middle of her back. She screamed out in pain and went down face first. From behind her Sara heard the truck's door opening, and without turning her back completely on Kimmy, she turned to Kenneth, pointing the club at him.

"Stop right there asshole," she warned him. "The cops have been called and unless you hillbillies want to be arrested, I suggest you tuck tail and run." She waited for their response, knowing they wouldn't just leave.

"You listen here little girl," Kenneth took a step towards her, while looking at his wife. "That is our kin in there. She belongs to us; you have no right to keep her from us."

"I have every right! You and this heifer beat her! I've seen the scars, and bruises." Sara adjusted her grip on the club, holding it towards the end. It lengthened her reach but still kept the club well out of Kenneth's reach. "You lost any right to call yourselves her 'kin' when you laid hands on her. Now get the hell out of here!"

Kenneth leered at her, "You really think you can keep me from my own flesh and blood, little girl?"

"I can and I will," she gripped the club like a bat now. "And you will be limping out of here if you don't leave."

Without warning he charged her. Sara wasn't expecting the move and just managed to turn her back and plant her feet, allowing her to absorber his impact and keeping her stance. He tried to spin her around, but she managed to hook her foot around his legs and trip him. This unfortunately caused her to go down with him, but since she was expecting it, she managed roll away from him, keeping the golf club tucked to her. By then Kimmy had gotten to her feet and again tried to take her by surprise.

"That's enough!" she shouted as she brought the club into Kimmy's stomach, causing her to double over in pain, then turned to Kenneth and brought it down on his back. She stepped to the side and swung as hard as she could into his side. There was an audible crack and he howled in pain. She turned to Kimmy and repeated the move, taking her in the left shoulder. The woman grabbed her arm and fell beside her husband wailing louder than him.

Sara was about to threaten them again, but at that moment she heard the gravel crunching down the drive and looked up to see two police cruisers, lights flashing, barreling down the driveway. Her brain was telling her to drop the golf club so the cops would not see her as the threatening one, but her instincts wouldn't let her. She watched two officers exit the first cruiser cautiously.

"Everything alright, Ms.?"

She started to shake her head, when she heard her name being called from the porch, "Sara?"

The cops and the Browning's were completely forgotten when Sara looked up and saw Aly standing inside the screen door, the phone clutched so tightly in her little hands, her face and knuckles had turned an alarming white. Sara dropped the club, bolted towards the little girl. She wrapped the girl in a huge hug and could hear her still sobbing.

"Mrs. Stock is going to make me leave. I don't wanna go."

Sara pulled away and looked Aly in the eyes, "You're not going anywhere, and I'll kick anyone's ass who tries to take you."

That was two years ago, and Sara wished she could say she had to fight like hell to keep Aly there but there had been no fight. Mr. and Mrs. Browning had been arrested for trespassing, and Mrs. Joyce was more than happy to keep Aly there. Plus having someone to look after and protect had pulled Sara back from that dark ledge she had been standing on for the last eight months.


	9. Mistaken Identity

**Lucifer: More Than My Own Existence**

_**Chapter 8**_

_**Mistaken Identity**_

Finding East Jackson Middle school was a piece of cake. Sara parked the Beast in the parking lot across from the school and ignoring a few of the other parents glaring at her, grabbed her bag and headed into the school. It was nearly empty, only a few stragglers hanging around the halls. She followed the signs to the main office and saw Aly sitting on the bench out front with another girl.

"Aly," she called out.

Aly looked up in surprise and a wide grin spread across her face, "Sara!" Her friend forgotten, she jumped up and ran to Sara, leaping at the last moment, forcing Sara to catch her mid-air. She hugged her tightly and spun her around before setting her firmly on the ground.

That's when Aly noticed the newest addition to Sara's wardrobe and pointed towards the new tattoo behind Sara's right ear. "Has Mrs. Stock seen this."

The tattoo in question was a red neck hummingbird. Sara had saved up for three months to get it. She shook her head and whispered, "No and you're not telling her either." She took her foster sisters' hand and lead her back to where her friend was waiting. She held out her other hand to this girl sitting on the bench. "Hi, I'm Sara."

The girl took the offered hand and stood up, "Trixie." If Sara hadn't known better, she would have sworn Trixie and Aly were sisters. Same dark hair, both done in a single braid down their back, and same wide brown eyes.

"Nice to meet you Trixie, are guys ready to go?" They both nodded excitedly, and it was like seeing twins nod in agreement. "Alright let me just check out with the office." No sooner than the words were out of her mouth then a tall, thin ginger haired man walked out of the office and motioned her forward.

"You girls have a seat," she motioned to the bench, "I'm going to talk with the principal." Both girls sat down while Sara walked into the office.

After checking Sara's ID, the principal offered her a seat. She politely declined. "I'm principal Corbett, the other reason I needed to speak with you is to make sure you are up to date on what is going on with Mr. Browning, Alysyn's father."

"Well, I know he and his wife are going to a special place in hell and that if they come anywhere near Aly, I'll finish what I started last year when they tried to take her from us."

There was a slight upturn of his mouth, "Yes, Mrs. Stock said you were extremely protective of your foster siblings, even though you no longer live with them. But I was referring to him knowing she attends this school."

Sara took a deep breath, "How the hell did that piece of crap find out."

"Yesterday we had a temp secretary, and unknown to us she told him when he called inquiring about his daughter." He took a seat. "Now we have his picture out to all the teachers, and our security officer. We needed to let Mrs. Stock know, we will require her to pick up Alysyn after school from now on."

This elicited another sign. With three other kids going to a different school, coming here every day to pick up Aly would make it difficult for Mrs. Stock. "What about me? Since I am still on the pick-up list, would it be okay if I'm the one to pick her up?"

There was a moment were Sara thought Mr. Corbett was going to say no, but he nodded his head.

She promised to inform Mrs. Stock of this new development and headed out of the office, irritated as hell with Aly's sperm donor. Why couldn't he, and that cow he called a wife, just leave her alone. They both made it quite clear that they didn't want her, but it was like a two-year old with a toy. If they couldn't have Aly, no one would.

Both Aly and Trixie were still sitting on the bench outside the office and seemed to have come up with a game of their own making, which apparently involved switching jackets and bags. "Look Sara, I'm Trixie and she's Aly."

Sara smiled at them. It amazed her how much Aly had come out of her shell. "Well it's a good thing I know my Aly, or I would never be able to tell you apart." She jerked her head towards the doors, "Let's head out girls."

Letting the girls lead the way out to The Beast, Sara pulled out her phone to let Mrs. Stock know she had the girls, they were headed back to Woody Ranch and inform her that Aly's father knew what school she was attending. She had just punched in the number when she noticed the girls were a little farther ahead of her than she wanted, "Girls! Hold up a second!" They both stopped at the curb and waited.

Mrs. Stock was on the line, "Hello Sara. Any problem picking Aly and her friend up." Sara could hear the choir singing in the background.

"Nope, no problems," she informed her as she dug through her bag looking for the Beasts keys. "The Principal did give me some wonderful news." She found the keys, pulled them out and switched her bag to the other shoulder. "It seems Aly's father found out she goes to this school and now they need someone to pick her up every day." Sara didn't miss the sharp intake of breath from Mrs. Stock. "Don't worry, I've already volunteered as tribute." She glanced up to see both girls still waiting by the curb, they were still further than she would like, but at least they were waiting for her. In fact, at this distance, it was hard to tell them apart. "The principal says this would be fine."

The next few seconds happened quickly.

Still on the phone with Mrs. Stock, Sara watched as a large, windowless white van pull up in front of the girls. A man with jet black hair and green camos jumped out of the front passenger side door grabbing Trixie, as another man in the back, slid open the side door. The black-haired man shoved her into the van. All of this played out slowly for Sara, giving her time to register what was happening.

"ALY!" Sara shouted as she ran towards the van, dropping her bag on the sidewalk, "BROOMSTICKS!" It was the codeword for run. Ever since the first time her parents had tried to take her, Sara and Aly had worked on this word all the time. Any time Aly heard it, she was to stop whatever she was doing, run and hid herself, until the all clear was called. Over the course of two years they had practiced this drill. At the ranch, school, shopping, once in the middle of a carnival. The training paid off.

The man with the jet-black hair was reaching for her when Aly heard broomsticks. Without thinking about what she was doing, working on muscle memory, Aly turned to her left and ran. The man would have given chase but by then Sara had closed the distance and without thinking she tackled him, her forward momentum carrying her into the van as well. She heard a satisfying thunk as the back of his head hit to floor of the van.

It took a little longer for Sara's eyes to adjust to low lighting in the van, but she was able to find Trixie, a man with the blonde hair was trying to get her hands tied but it seemed Trixie had a little training of her own. She was fighting against him, scratching his arms, face anything she could get a hold of. Using her right hand, Sara pushed herself off the man she had tackled and stiff armed the palm of her hand into Blondie's nose, breaking it. He stopped struggling with Trixie, grabbing instead at his nose which was now gushing blood between his fingers. Trixie started to move towards the open door and for a moment Sara thought she would make it out of the van. But that thought was crushed when the van door slammed shut. She tried to turn around to open the door but was met with a fist to her face. A light exploded in front of her and Sara really did see stars.

The last thing she registered were two muffled female voices, one shouting Sara's name and the other shouting Trixie's.

Chloe Decker had just pulled up to her daughter's school, when she saw Trixie standing on the curb with another little girl. "Crap," she said to herself, "that's right." She had completely forgotten Trixie was going to a friend's house after school, so she had no reason to come pick her up. But since she was here. She unbuckled her belt, got out of the car and was reaching for her purse when she heard someone yell.

"ALY!"

The voice was panicked, and the tone alone made Chloe instinctively reach for her side arm. She glanced towards the voice and saw a vaguely familiar dark-haired young woman running towards the curb. Following the trajectory, she saw a white van had pulled up to the curb where Trixie and her friend had been waiting. Trixie's friend was no longer there and the man standing next to the van was reaching for Trixie.

"BROOMSTICKS!"

The moment that word hit Chloe's ears she saw Trixie turn towards her and run. That was when she realized the girl wasn't Trixie. _Where is my daughter!_ Her stomach dropped and fear rushed thought her when she realized the young woman had tackled the man into the van, and the driver had closed the van door.

"TRIXIE!" she yelled as the van speed away from the curb.

A total of maybe fifteen seconds had passed since Chloe got out of the car. Without thinking and relying on her training, Chloe grabbed for her car radio. "This is Detective Decker. We have a 207 at East Jackson Middle School. Suspects are driving a white Ford van, California plates, plate number six, Foxtrot, November eight, nine, one Whiskey. Heading south on Vermont Ave. They have a ten-year-old girl, dark hair pulled back in a braid, wearing a white, long sleeved t-shirt with pink flowers on the front, dark blue jeans with purple flowers down the leg, and black flat shoes." Chloe was amazed she could recall in detail what Trixie had left the house with. "Another female was taken as well, age unknown. Dark hair, wearing a red shirt with a blue stripped pull over and jeans."

She waited for what seemed like forever but could have only been a few seconds. "Copy that. Sending units to East Jackson Middle School for a 207. Detective, the lieutenant is asking you to switch to channel 6, he needs to confirm some information."

Chloe didn't need to be psychic to know what Pierce wanted to confirm and she took a deep breath before switching channels. "Decker here."

"Chloe, is Trixie okay?"

She ignored his question and asked one of her own, "Is Dan there with you?"

There was a slight scuffle before she heard her ex's voice, "Yea, I'm here."

"Someone took her, Dan." she leaned against the door jam, fighting against the panic that was trying so hard to bubble up out of her. "Someone took Trixie."

That was when she noticed the little girl she had mistaken for Trixie. She was hiding behind the back bumper of her car, with her knees to her chest, and hands over her eyes. "Hold on," she ignored both Pierce and Dan's protest as she set the hand-held radio on the passenger seat. "Hey," she called to the frightened girl. "I'm Trixie's mom. It's okay." The girl peeked at her through her fingers, but Chloe could still see the tears in her eyes. She smiled, and held out her hand to the girl, "Do you have a name?"

"Aly. Aly Browning." she took Chloe's hand. "Where's Sara?" There was a catch in the girls' voice.

That must be the name of the young woman they took. "I'm not sure Aly," she told her as she led her to the passenger side of her car. She picked up the receiver and motioned for Aly to have a set. "Do you know Sara's last name?"

Aly nodded as she took a seat, "Sara Fenn, she's my foster sister."

At that name, it clicked why Chloe thought she recognized the young woman. Two years ago, the double murder at The Coffee Shop. Chloe had been led detective on Sara's mother's murder.

"Guys," she spoke into the receiver, "I have a name of the second…" she stuttered on the word victim, "person taken. Sara Fenn." She turned her back to Aly, "What's the ETA on additional units?"

There was a moment where neither man spoke.

"Chloe, a unit was able to find the suspects van," Dan paused for a moment. It sounded like he was trying to control his voice. "It was abandoned three blocks from the school." Again, that pause.

"Chloe," it was Pierce this time, "they switched vehicles."

Chloe couldn't breathe. If the kidnappers switched vehicles for all they knew they were driving a horse drawn carriage. This was not good.

Happily, it was at the moment that other units arrived on scene. Chloe told them everything she could remember about the kidnapping, including updating them on the van being found. They escorted Aly to a woman waiting behind yellow tape that she didn't even notice they had put up. Now that she knew it was Sara who had been taken along with her daughter, Chloe recognized the woman as Mrs. Stock. There were three kids gathered around her, all of whom seemed relieved to see Aly, but they did not immediately move off. They stayed there as Mrs. Stock spoke with the officer.

Chloe paid no attention to this. Her mind was on her missing daughter. She tried to think of who would want to take Trixie, but nothing came to her. Mostly because every time she tried to think her mind would turn to how scared Trixie had to be, or maybe she was hurt, or a billion other unpleasant thoughts. There was no way for them to track the kidnappers now that they had abandoned the first vehicle. But she was sure that wouldn't stop her forensic scientist from trying. Ella Lopes would do anything for Trixie, she loved her as much as Chloe. In fact, Maze would probably be the only other person who loved Trixie more.

"Maze!" If there was anyone who could track and find Trixie, it would be her.

"CHLOE!" Her name being called in two distinct voices interrupted her thoughts. She looked up in time to see Dan ducking under the yellow tape. And right on his heels was her partner, Lucifer Morningstar. Relief flooded her and she pushed herself off the car. Lucifer reached her first.

"What happened?" There was a cutting edge to his voice. For all his huffing about Trixie, calling her offspring and small human, Chloe knew he liked her and would punish anyone who tried to hurt her daughter. This time he might get his chance to prove that.

"I forgot Trixie was going to stay at a friend's house, so I came to pick her up. When I got out of the car, I heard Sara yelling and looked up to see Aly running away and Sara tackling a guy into a van and Trixie was nowhere to be seen, but she had been standing on the curb just moments before. The van sped off with Trixie and Sara inside, I couldn't get there in time." Chloe knew she was babbling, and Lucifer probable had no clue who she was talking about other than Trixie.

In a very un-Lucifer move, he made no joke, just pulled her into a tight embrace. "It'll be alright Detective. We will find her, and she will be just fine."

All Chloe could do was nod, but she could feel tears falling from her eyes. She needed her daughter back in her arms, to know she was safe and alright.

Sara wasn't sure which brought her around first, the pain on the side of her face where she had been struck, or the small sobs beside her. She decided it was the sobs.

Her eyes fluttered open and the second thing she noticed was that it was cold, even though it had been a nice eighty degrees earlier. A groan escaped her lips when she pushed her head up and the room started to spin.

"Are you alright?" Trixie whispered

She tried to smile, "Yea, I'll be fine." She wasn't sure why they were whispering but she would take her que from Trixie. "I just need a moment to get my head to quit spinning. Please tell me my head isn't spinning around."

Trixie shook her head. "No. It's sitting there." She helped her sit and Trixie looked scared. "I don't know where we are. I couldn't see out of the van."

She glanced around the room, the windows were framed in wood, high and small, even Trixie wouldn't be able to get through those. They were also the only source of light and there was hardly any daylight coming through, but Sara could tell the sun was still up. Which meant they were facing away from the setting sun but here were no other buildings to block the sun completely. It also meant not a lot of time had passed since they were kidnapped. Since she could see the ground through the small windows it let her know they were currently sitting a basement.

Sara nodded as the spinning stopped but her left cheek still felt like it was on fire. She stood up hoping the dizziness would not return. "How long were we traveling," she asked as she made a circuit around the room, running her hand against the rough walls, realizing they were wooden logs mixed with dirt, as was the floor.

Now that Trixie had something to focus on, she didn't seem as frightened, "Five minutes in the first van, but they switched us from a white van to a black van. We were in that one for about an hour?"

"How could you tell?" Since she could see the ground through the small windows, it let her know they were currently sitting a basement. The walls were compact dirt and there were some old pieces of wood in the far-right corner that Sara nearly tripped on. The door was the only thing made of metal and double latched with a pull handle, which of course Sara pulled on to confirm it was locked.

Trixie pushed up the sleeve on her right arm to reveal a watch, "I kept track."

"Smart kid. Have you been kidnapped before?"

Sara meant it as a joke, but Trixie nodded. "A man took me out of school a while back. But my mom and Lucifer came and got me."

This made Sara come to a complete halt and look over her shoulder at her. "Lucifer?" she asked, there couldn't be that many people named after the devil. "As in Lucifer Morningstar?" Trixie smiled and nodded. "That would make your mom Detective Decker?" Again, Trixie nodded. "I know them." She decided not to elaborate on the how. She remembered Detective Decker from her mom's murder case. She had liked her from the get-go. Her civilian consultant had taken a little longer to warm up to, and even than it was a luke-warm welcome at best.

"What do they want," Trixie asked, worry lacing her voice.

Sara completed her tour of their prison, "If I'm not mistaken, they wanted Aly and grabbed you by mistake." She sat back down next to Trixie wrapping her arm around the girl's shoulders, realizing she was quiet cold. "Don't worry kid-o. We'll get out of here," she rubbed Trixie's shoulder, trying to warm up her arm, "promise."


	10. Shot In The Dark

**Lucifer: More Than My Own Existence**

_**Chapter 9**_

**A Shot in the Dark**

"Detectives," a uniform officer had walked up to them. Chloe was sitting on the bonnet of her car. Dan was beside her and Lucifer was off to the side talking on the phone. Most likely calling in all kinds of favors. "There is a lady here who believes she knows what this is about." He pointed towards the woman Chloe had seen earlier. The one Aly had rushed off too.

"I remember her," Chloe told Dan. "Two years ago,"

"That's right. Sara's foster mom, Mrs. Stock." Dan motioned for Chloe to stay, "I'll go talk to her, you stay here."

She shook her head and slid off the bonnet, "No, I want to know why Trixie was taken. I'm going with you."

The officer who had walked up to them interrupted, "Um… do you want Mr. Morningstar talking to her?"

Both Chloe and Dan turned towards Mrs. Stock. Lucifer was already there speaking with her animatedly. "No," came Dan's curt reply as he headed over towards the two of them. Chloe was right on his heels.

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Stock and I must say it is a real pleasure seeing you again. I just wish it were under better circumstances." Lucifer had taken her hand and kissed it and if Dan wasn't mistaken the woman looked about ready to pass out.

Without waiting for him to turn around, Dan grabbed Lucifer's arm and spun him around. "What do you think you're doing."

He jerked his arm back, "Locating your little urchin." He motioned behind him. "Turns out this little human's parents have been trying to take her back since she was taken from them." Mrs. Stock was nodding along. "The mother was arrested a month ago for assaulting an educator, and the child was transferred to this place. The father found out yesterday his offspring was at this school and today tried to get her back, but his little cronies grabbed the wrong child."

"So," Chloe started, not sure if she was relieved, "if Trixie was a mistake why haven't they released her yet? Just left her and Sara on the side of the road somewhere?"

Dan put it together a lot quicker than his ex. "They haven't realized they got the wrong kid."

Using Trixie's watch, they were able to keep track of how long they waited in that cold basement. An hour later they heard the door being unlocked and Sara pulled a shivering Trixie to her feet and tucked her tight to her side.

When the door opened blondie walked in with a bandage across his nose, followed by the man with jet black hair and another man Sara thought she recognized, but couldn't place. Blondie and black-haired guy took up stances on either side of the door, giving Sara the impression, they must have had some kind of military training, but it was obvious the unknown man was in charge.

He held out his hand, "Aly, you need to come with me."

Trixie shrunk behind her and Sara put her arm out to block him, "This isn't Aly. You dumb shits grabbed the wrong kid."

A look of concern passed between the door guards, but it was the man in front of them who answered. "Ms. Fenn, you need to stay out of this."

"Oh, good you know who I am." She tucked Trixie further behind her. "Even if this was Aly, which it isn't, I would never let her go with you."

"This is a family matter and you are not her family."

"I am more her family than those pieces of shit who have the balls to call themselves her parents. Do you even know what they did to her? Why she was taken from them?"

"I've spoken with her father. It was a misunderstanding that got out of hand."

"Misunderstanding!" she shrieked. "That sperm donor threw an empty beer bottle at her head, left her to wonder the streets with a busted, bleeding head! Before that, his cunt of a wife slammed her hand in the car door, just because Aly dropped her ice cream cone on the ground! Before that there was the curling iron to the backs of both her legs, and before that the kitchen knife thrown at her back! Do you want me to keep going?" Sara had seen each and every one of the scars left from these encounters.

"She. Is not. Aly!" Sara growled at them. "You idiots have kidnapped a cop's kid."

Now she had their attention.

"What do you mean a cop's kid?" It was the man with the black hair asking.

"You remember how there were two girls standing there?" She asked but didn't wait for an answer. "That second girl was Aly. This is Trixie. Her mom and dad are detectives with the LAPD."

There was another look of concern pass between the man with the black hair and blondie. "Luis, you said you were sure this was your niece."

Now Sara realized why Luis looked so familiar. "You're Kenneth's brother." It was a statement, not a question. "You're the reason he and that bitch didn't go to jail the first time Aly was taken from them. You said you and your family would take her in, but the second the Social Worker walked out the door, you turned your niece over to her abusers." Sara's hands were shaking.

Blondie turned to Luis. "Dude, is that true?"

"Allen, this bitch will say anything."

Sara crossed the room in two long strides. She gripped Luis's arms and glared into his eyes. "Tell me the Truth! Did you know what they were doing to Aly?"

There was a second where Luis tried to pull away. But as Sara had leaned two years ago, if she wanted the truth from someone and applied enough force of mind, they would always tell it to her.

"Of course, I knew they were hurting Aly. I lied to Allen and Roger to get them to help me take Aly back to my brother. She belongs to him, not the system."

She dropped his arm and stepped back, putting herself between them and Trixie. He blinked a couple times, not sure what he had just admitted to. Sara looked at the men behind him. "Your friend lied to you. He's made you accomplices to kidnapping. Let us go and we'll say it was all him." There was a moment she was sure they were about to agree with her when another voice could be heard booming from the next room.

"WHERE'S MY DAUGHTER!"

"What I don't understand," Lucifer mused, "how Sara fits into all this. She isn't Aly's real sister, yet she was willing to tackle a man three times her size to try and protect not only her but Trixie as well."

Mrs. Stock puffed a little bit. "Sara is more Aly's sister than anyone. After you arrested her mother's killer, it was hard for her. She didn't trust anybody. Then we got Aly." She put an arm around said girls' shoulder. "She was more withdrawn than Sara had been, but when she was with Sara, they brought out the best of each other. Then Aly's parents tried to take Aly from us and Sara…,"

"She beat them up," Aly chirped in. "I was scared Mrs. Stock would send me away after that, but Sara said she would fight anyone who tried to take me away from them."

"Sara will always protect those who can't protect themselves. It doesn't matter if she has known them a year of a few moments." She looked at Chloe, "If your daughter is with Sara, Sara will do everything she can to keep your daughter safe."

"What the Hell Is Going On In Here!" The words were clipped and even before Kenneth Browning was in the room, Sara could smell booze on him.

Sure enough, when he walked into the room, he had a beer bottle in his left hand. He looked worse than she remembered. What little hair he had was turning grey and looked as if he hadn't washed sine the last time, she had seen him. Of course, the last time she had seen him this close, was in the front yard of Woody Ranch. She took a deep breath, ready to protect Trixie at all cost.

Kenneth looked up and recognition spread across his face. "I know you." He took a step closer to her. "You're the little bitch who kept me from my daughter."

Sara kept herself between this gutter rat and Trixie. "Yeah, and you're the piece of shit who likes to beat on little girls." His smell alone was enough to make her sick.

Kenneth was incredible slow, Sara could see him pull back right arm, but she didn't have to stop him. Allen had stepped up and grabbed Kenneth's arm. "Dude, we need to talk to you and your brother." Using the grip, he still had on his arm, he pulled Kenneth out the door, while the guy with black hair motioned for Luis to follow.

Sara heard the door lock from the other side, they hadn't taken Trixie, so she breathed a sigh of relief. However, this in no way meant they were out of the woods. Just because they knew they had the wrong kid didn't mean they would just let the two them go. She and Trixie could clearly identify all of them.

"Sara," Trixie stated, now clinging to Sara's leg, "will the let us go now?"

She smiled down at the girl, "I'm sure they will now." It was a bold face lie but she didn't want to scare her. "I'm going to try and hear what they are saying"

Once the door was closed the cold was starting to come back, but Sara pushed it out of her mind as she put her ear up to the ice-cold door. She could make out Kenneth's voice the best because she knew it better than the others, but she was starting to pick up the other three voices the longer she listened.

"Luis, you said the cops were blowing a simple slap out of proportion. Now your saying you knew your niece was being abused by your brother and not only were you going to hand her over to him, but you just made Roger and I accomplices to kidnapping, and a cop's kid at that!" Allen sounded pissed.

"I have no idea why I said that." Luis sound confused as to why he confessed. "Aly belongs to Kenneth and his wife; the state had no right to take her away from them."

"No right?! He was abusing his own kid."

"Look me in the eye and tell me everything she said they did was a lie." This voice was new and hard to make out, must have been Roger.

"She's My Kid! I have the right to do whatever I want!"

"LIKE HELL YOU DO!" Yep, defiantly Roger and he sound madder than Allen. "You threw a beer bottle at your kid and then left her to bleed. What the hell is wrong with you!"

"What I do with MY kid is nobody's business!"

"It is when what you're doing is hurting her! Besides, that girl in there isn't your kid. She's a cop's kid and we are letting them go."

Sara heard the lock being fiddled with. "NO!" was shouted on the other side of the door and seconds later a gunshot went off.

Sara bolted away from the door and back to Trixie, who looked just as shocked as she did.

"Thank you," Chole said after hearing Mrs. Stock's praise of Sara. "But how do we find them?"

Lucifer seemed to finally find the conversation interesting, "Well Maze, of course. The second I heard the urchin was taken I called Maze. She's been on the trial since before I even got here. Now that she has a name…"

"How did Maze get Kenneth's name already? We just found out."

"I texted it to her while you and the Detective were talking to Mrs. Stock." His phone dinged and he looked at it. "Oh, look at that," he tapped his phone, putting Maze on speaker. "Hello Maze, have you found the little human?"

"I'm on his trail. I talked with an employer and Kenneth works at Leo Carrillo Campgrounds, as a grounds keeper. It's about an hour away and is currently close due to fire damage. I should be there in thirty."

"Maze, you need to wait for us," Dan said as he reached for the phone, but Lucifer stopped him.

There was a sharp laugh, "No can-do Dan. It would take you forty-five minutes to even catch up with me. Plus, he might not be there. Not to mention that if you are insisting on joining the hunt, I know Decker will as well."

Chloe snapped her mouth shut, because she had been about to insist on coming as well.

"Yeah, I'll let you know when I find Trixie." There was a short pause and Maze's voice softened, "Chloe, I promise I'll bring her home."

Maze ended the call and Lucifer slid his phone int his inside pocket.

Dan looked from Chloe to Lucifer, feeling utterly helpless. He needed to be doing something. "I'm going to talk to other witnesses. If it turns out Kenneth isn't there, we'll need another lead." He moved off to where another group of officers where speaking to a small group of teachers.

"So, shall we go?" Lucifer asked as he motioned towards his car.

"Go where?" Chloe asked a little perplexed. He couldn't believe she would leave Dan to do the leg work while she went for a joy ride with him.

"To the campgrounds of course," he replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"You heard Maze, it would take us to long to catch up with her. Besides Trixie might not even be there."

"If Daniel were driving then yes." He took her arm and lead he towards his car. "But you'll be riding shotgun with the devil and I can get us there about the same time as Maze. And don't bother asking Daniel if he wants to join, unless you think he'll enjoy the boot."

He was right of course, his sleek black convertible, while beautiful to look at, would never fit more than two people. Without turning towards Dan Chloe slid into the passenger side. "Let's go get my daughter."

Lucifer grinned as he got behind the wheel, "And punish the bastards who took her."

Sara immediately knelt down to Trixie, taking her face in her hands, needing to get her eyes off the door where all the commotion was going on. "Trixie, look at me." She waited for the girls frightened eyes to focus on her. "Good girl. Now no matter who comes through that door, you stay back. You got it?" She nodded franticly. "Good." She stood up and took another look around the cabin's basement. While the few scarce pieces of wood looked like they would crumble if she touched them, they were also the only thing she could see as any kind of weapon. Maybe if she was lucky, she could get a piece strong enough to use as a shive.

She moved Trixie to the far back wall, "Stay here." Then went to the discarded wood. Using the tip of her shoe she kicked a few of the longer looking pieces and to her relief one of them didn't fall apart. She picked it up, it was about half the size of a broom handle and when she swung it, it didn't disintegrate in her hands, but did leave a few large slinters.

She returned to Trixie, "Listen closely. Whoever comes through that door first I am going to hit three times with this. After that I will grab your hand and we will run. I figure we are in a basement so I am sure there will be some stairs." She needed Trixie to be on the same page as her. This way there would be no surprises. "If we do get separated or I have to tell you to run a head of me, find a way out of this place. Once outside you go to the right, find a place to hide and you wait for me to come to you. Got it?" Again, Trixie nodded. "Good." She motioned for Trixie to stay back against the wall, while she flattened herself against the wall beside the door. She took a few deep breaths and waited for the first person to walk through the door, quite sure she knew who it would be.

There was still a lot of yelling on the other side of the door, but when she heard the sound of glass breaking, she gripped the would be handle tighter, forcing more wood slinters into her hands.

Silence

It seemed to last forever, then whoever was still there unlocked the door.

Sara took a long deep breath and let it out slowly. Stepping into the light the open door allowed in, she started to swing, aiming high.

"WAIT!" It was the dark-haired man, Roger. His lip was split, and his right hand was pressed to his stomach and there was blood oozing between his fingers. "You need to run." He stepped aside and Sara could see into the other room. It appeared as if the basement was divided into two rooms, although this new one was more of a foyer. Luis was on the ground a small pool of blood circling his head. Allen and Kenneth were nowhere to been seen. "I managed to knock out Luis and Kenneth shot me, Allen ran, and I guess Kenneth thought I was dead and chased after him. The man is crazy, and you need to get out of here."

He sagged to the floor and Sara dropped the make-shift weapon and went over to him. "You need help, please tell me you have a phone." She started to search him but stopped when he shook his head.

"Luis told us not to bring them, they could be tracked." He hissed when Sara pushed hard on the wound. She knew what it was like to feel this kind of pain. He looked over her shoulder, towards Trixie. "I'm so sorry kiddo."

Sara looked behind her and saw Trixie standing there looking stunned but not scared.

Roger retuned his focus to Sara, "Listen, Kenneth maybe a drunk bastard, but that just makes him more dangerous. I hope you weren't lying about her being a cop's kid."

Shaking her head Sara stood up. There was nothing she could do for this man. Not if she wanted to keep Trixie and herself safe. "I wasn't."

"We're about an hour from LA. There are woods out towards the back, if you and the girl can make it to them, you might be able to lose him. If you continue southwest through the woods, you'll hit the bluffs. Do not stop moving."

Sara nodded, "Thank you." She took Trixie's hand and lead the way out.


	11. Chapter Leap Of Faith

**Lucifer: More Than My Own Existence**

_**Chapter 10**_

_**A Leap of Faith/They Are Real**_

Bursting out of the cabin's gloom and into the brilliant sunlight cause Sara to stumble slightly. It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the change. Once adjusted, she was a little surprise to see that Roger had been telling the truth, there was a wooded area less than fifty yards from them.

Sara gripped Trixie's hand tight as they ran from the cabin. She glanced behind to see if Kenneth was pursuing them, and noticed a sign that read, 'Welcome to Leo Carrillo Campgrounds.' The side door let them out on the east side of the forest and for a moment Sara had been relieved for two reasons. One, because she hadn't seen Kenneth when she'd glanced back and two, the woods looked thick enough they could lose him in them, if they could just get there.

The first reason vanished when she felt a sharp burning sensation run across the outside of her upper thigh, which was followed by the echo of a gunshot. She heard Trixie shout and didn't have to look back to know that Kenneth was now pursuing them. The pain in her leg wasn't bad enough to keep her from running so she forced her legs to move faster. Trixie managed to keep the pace right along with her. They made it to the tree line and once under the cover of the trees Sara took a hard left. She needed Kenneth to think they had continued in a straight line. After running a few hundred yards she took a sharp right, continued another few yards and took a sharp left. She would have continued this zigzag pattern, but she felt Trixie's hand jerk out of hers and skidded to a halt.

When she turned around, Trixie was on all fours. Sara's heart sank as she watched her try and get back up, thinking she had been hit or something, and rushed to the girl's side. "Are you all right?" She looked her over but the only spots of blood she saw were from Trixie's palms and her right knee.

She nodded, "I tripped. Sorry." Sara helped her to stand, feeling instant relief that the girl hadn't fallen because of a gunshot. She held her fore finger to her own lips and listened for a moment.

Far off to the right she could hear Kenneth yelling and branches braking. Being incredibly careful of Trixie's scrapped up hands, Sara took her hand and motioned in front of them. There was a fallen tree with a hollowed-out space between it and two other trees it had fallen against. "We need to whisper now and when we walk, try really hard not to step on branches." Trixie nodded and they made their way to the hallowed-out trees with minimal noise.

The entrance was a tight fit but once inside it opened up and with all the forest debris that had fallen on the trees, unless you knew to look there, they were well hidden. Sara was able to take a closer look at Trixie's hands and knees, she also found the culprit at had caused Trixie to trip and fall, untied shoelaces. Sara wasn't worried, the wounds were superficial. She smiled to Trixie and the girl actually smiled back. Still neither of them made a sound. She then turned her attention to her own wound. There was a bloody tear in jeans, smack in the middle of her outer thigh. She grabbed the tear and pulled it, ripping her jeans to give her a bigger hole to see the wound. A sigh of relief escaped her lips, it was only a graze and it wasn't even bleeding now.

Sara looked up to see Trixie's eyes were wide. She shook her head and whispered, "It's fine. Just a graze." The two of them sat like that, listening as the sound of yelling grew fainter. At some point the sound vanished all together. The quiet gave Sara a moment to think about their next move. Ever since seeing Trixie being forced into that van, she had simply been reacting to everything thrown at her. Now that she had a moment to think she was drawing a blank on what to do.

"Okay," she said more to herself, "we are in the middle of the woods, a lunatic is hunting us. We have no way to call for help or know for sure if help is on the way. What do we do?" She looked outside the hallow log they were hiding in. The natural sounds of the forest were returning, telling her Kenneth was either moving away from them, or being really quiet himself. She would bet money on the latter, rather than the former.

* * *

Maze managed to get to the Carrillo Campgrounds in record time and even that had seemed too long for her. She left the car door open as she moved towards the one cabin untouched by fire and glanced around the campground. If you added dark skies, fallen ash and some tall stone monuments, the blackened fire damage reminded her a little of home. She stopped that thought in her tracks. No, Hell was not her home, she admitted to herself. Her home was with Lucifer and more importantly Trixie. And someone had the audacity to try and hurt her little human? She knew Lucifer would never kill a human and by proxy, she had always refrained from killing out of respect for him, but now. Maze was sure he would not bat an eye if some kind of agony were to befall whom ever had taken her friend, and she had so many painful ideas.

She walked around the perimeter of the cabin, twirling her hell forged blades while making sure there were no surprises. There was a side door standing wide open and checking the ground she was able to see three different sets of footprints. One set were definitely a child's size.

"Trixie."

All three sets were heading towards the wooded area, so she followed them. Less than ten yards in, two of the prints veered sharply to the left, while the bigger prints continued straight. There was a moment Maze's instinct told her to follow the larger set of prints, knowing they would lead her to the one who had taken Trixie and she would be able to punish them. A wicked grin spread across her face, imagining all the pain she would cause him. No, she told herself, finding Trixie was more important than punishing the guilty right now. Besides, she would have plenty of time once the little human was back in her mothers' arms to inflect unimaginable torments.

The grin never left her face as she started to follow the double set of prints deeper into the woods.

* * *

Chloe wanted to yell at Lucifer to go faster. She knew her daughter needed her, and she felt helpless not being there, but a quick glance at the speedometer let her know he was going well over the posted speed limit. It still felt as if they were traveling at a snail's pace. Since getting onto Lucifer's car, Chloe's hands hadn't sat still. They were either fidgeting in her lap, brushing back strands of hair that weren't there or fiddling with the bullet necklace. Currently they were split between fidgeting in her lap and the necklace.

Lucifer must had noticed and reached over the cover the hand fidgeting in her lap, "She will be fine Detective. We will find her, and she will be alright." _Or so help them Dad, there will be a new definition of torture when I get through with them. _

Chloe didn't miss how the corners of his mouth became tense. For the first time in their partnership she wished he really were the devil, then he could punish those who would dare try to harm her daughter. She just nodded, grateful for the reassurance.

Lucifer pulled up to an area that was burnt. The sign confirmed they were at the Leo Carrillo Campgrounds, and Chole could see that Maze had beaten them to the campgrounds, her car was sitting there with the door wide open. She was out of the car before Lucifer had put it in park. She was making her way to the cabin Maze had parked in front of when Lucifer took her wrist.

"This way Detective," he nodded towards Maze's footprints, which were visible in the dark softened dirt. He led her towards the side of the cabin, where they could see many other prints.

Chloe's detective skills kicked in, "It looks like Trixie and Sara were able to escape and ran for the woods, but if there were three abductors, why are there only one other set of prints following them into the woods?"

Lucifer had an idea why there was only one set. Obviously, the band of brother's loyalty had crumbled once it was realized they had the wrong child. In fact, it would not surprise him if later they found bodies in the cabin they were passing. "Let's be glad there is only one of those scoundrels following them, and even happier Maze is following him.

Chloe nodded, but did not smile. She upholstered her weapon as the two of them followed the trail.

* * *

Sara and Trixie sat quietly for a good fifteen minutes before she figured it was safe enough to move about. In that time, she had formulated a small plan. Get to the bluffs and follow the shoreline to help. It was a basic plan, but it would give them a goal to achieve.

She looked at Trixie and motioned for her to leave the tree. There was a moment she hesitated, but Sara smiled reassuringly and whispered, "The birds are making noises so that means there isn't anyone out there. It'll be alright."

Trixie shimmed out of the tree, and Sara followed. If it weren't for the fact that a deranged moron was hunting them, the forest would have been beautiful. But every shadow that moved and every rustle of the leaves caused her heart to flip in her chest.

"If Roger was telling the truth, the bluffs are this way," she motioned to her left. A quick glance towards the sky told her they were close to sunset but should have plenty of light left. She nodded towards the sun on the left and they headed off in that direction, taking extra care to be a quiet as possible. There was little to no talking and that made it easier for Sara to listen for any abnormal noises.

The walk wasn't hard, just tedious, as every step they took was carefully calculated to create the least amount of noise. The sun was just starting to dip below the horizon as the trees started to thin and suddenly, they were standing on the bluffs overlooking the ocean. The cliff dropped sharply to the sea below, but the sight of the sunset brought a smile to Sara and Trixie's face and for the first time in hours, Sara felt hopeful.

A loud crash broke the peaceful silence and as she was turning towards the sound, something hard and heavy collided with the side of her head. She could hear Trixie shouting her name. Before her vision could clear, she could feel hands at her throat. Looks like Kenneth had caught up to them. She started to blindly claw what she hoped was his face. It was enough to get him to release her. She felt the chain holding her mother's necklace snap off as she shoved away from him and fell to her side. When her vision finally cleared, she could see Kenneth had Trixie and was pulling her towards the bluffs edge.

Sara pushed herself onto her forearm's, her head still ringing from Kenneth's blow. There was blood running down the side of her face, but she couldn't think about that now. The man was still pulling Trixie towards the edge of the cliff, but the girl was fighting him tooth and nail. Her little fists and feet trying incredibly hard to pummel him, and Sara took a moment to realize Trixie had to have had some kind of training because the blows that landed seemed to actually hurt him. Sara could see her try and knee him in-between the legs but miss.

By the time Sara managed to get her feet under her and stand up, the two of them were only a few feet from the edge, the setting sun casting long shadows. Behind her Sara could hear an angry voice yelling Trixie's name, but she kept her focus was on the girl. "KENNETH!" she yelled and to her surprise Kenneth stopped moving. He held Trixie by her upper arms and was using her as a shield.

"You just don't know when to quit," his fingers were digging into her upper arms, and Sara could tell Trixie was biting back a cry.

"Let her go, Now!" She took a step towards them, a little surprised she didn't wobble, even though her legs felt like jelly. "There's nowhere to go." She gestured towards the ocean view and took another step closer. "Let her go."

A maniacal grin spread on his face, "No," he shook his head. "You took something of mine, now," he shook Trixie hard and Sara didn't miss there were tears in the girl's eyes, "I'm taking something from you."

Trixie's eyes went wide as she looked past Sara. "Maze!" she called out and tried again to break free.

Sara glanced behind her and saw a dark haired, dark skin woman, clad in leather, stalking towards them. In each hand she twirled two curved and extremely sharp looking blades, and murder in her eyes. Even Kenneth, in his manic state of mind, knew this woman was dangerous. He quickly started back peddling, pulling Trixie along with him.

Throwing out her arm to block the woman, Sara stopped her advanced. "Wait, he's too close to the edge."

Maze cast a glare at the offending arm, and Sara felt warm steel kissing her throat. "Stop me again," Maze moved her gaze to glare at Sara's face, "and it will end very badly for you." This was a real threat and she didn't doubt for a second this woman would slit her throat, but Sara was not going to back down.

"You charge him," she hissed, "and the bastard could fall off the edge, taking Trixie with him." There was a brief second as concern flashed across the woman's face and in that moment, Sara knew Maze care deeply for Trixie. "Let me get him away from the edge; then I don't care what you do to him."

There was a moment the blade pressed harder into her neck. "You've got thirty second," with a quick flick of her wrist, Maze removed the blade.

Sara returned her focus to Kenneth, who was now less than three feet from the edge. "If you hurt her, Kenneth, you're dead." She nodded towards Maze, "She'll see to that. You need to let her go. Now!"

Kenneth's gaze bounced back and forth between her and Maze. He seemed to be weighing the odds of him making it past Maze. If it had just been Sara, he might have chanced it, but with pain incarnate standing in from him? There was a moment it looked like he was going to release Trixie. Sara could see his fingers start to relax on the little girls' arms.

Two more figures came bursting through the brush on Sara's left side and she recognized them both. Trixie's mom, and Lucifer Morningstar. Chloe had her gun drawn, "TRIXIE!"

"MOMMY!"

Kenneth's eyes met Sara's and she knew what he was about to do. She sprinted at him, trying to get there before he did the unthinkable. Maze was faster and Sara was so sure she would get there in time to stop him. She saw the blade leave Maze's hand as Kenneth twisted Trixie to his left and over the edge of the cliff. The blade buried itself into the side of his neck right as Trixie's head fell below the edge of the cliff.

There were multiple shouts, some calling the little girl's name others simple shouted no, but Sara didn't stop to think about those voices. She saw Maze skid to a halt at the very edge of the cliff, but Sara kept running. Without thought and relaying on something other than self-preservation, Sara launched herself over the precipice, like a cliff diver.

A memory from when she was five came to her, the first time her wings had emerged. That time she had been falling feet first, and she had needed to stop the fall. This time she was headfirst and knew she needed to go faster. Her legs and ankles were locked together, arms stretched in front her, creating the least amount of drag as she reached for the falling girl.

She could hear Trixie screaming for her mother as she fell, the waves were not loud enough to block her out. Luck was on Sara's side, Trixie was falling with her back to the ground, creating enough drag Sara was able to get to her and wrap her own arms around the girl's waist. Pulling her into a tight embrace was surprisingly easy. The next part would not be.

It had been over two years since Sara had even tried to produce her wings. After being shot and then told the damage the bullet had done, she'd been terrified to try, scared that if she tried and couldn't, it would confirm the loss. At least that is what she told herself. Truthfully, her wings reminded her of her mom, and how even though she was Nephilim she had been unable to save her, both from dying and then again from going to Hell.

At this moment she knew none of that mattered. Trixie's life, as well as her own depended on her wings. She focused on the unused muscles at her back, knowing she had one shot at this. She willed them to expand as she rolled her shoulders back. Just like the first time, pain erupted from her back, but unlike last time it was not excruciating. It was pain from muscles that had not been used in over two years. She could feel her wings expand and curve, catching air to slow their decent. However, it would not be enough to stop them completely.

Sara gripped Trixie tighter, feeling the little girl's arms contract around her neck and her head bury into the crook of Sara neck. There was one more thing she could do. Contracting the muscles at the base of her wings and fully aware the rocks were coming up fast, she gave then a hard-downward thrust, feeling her wings, muscles and tendons strain and pull. It was enough to pull them out of the dive and carry them away from the rocks. They were defiantly going to hit the water and if she didn't change her trajectory, they would end up further out to sea and it would be harder be to get back to shore.

She dropped her right wing, allowing them to bank. The shore and water surface were approaching fast and Sara didn't think she would be able to right them for a smooth landing. With Trixie still clinging to her front, Sara made a final desperate maneuver. Thirty yards from the shoreline, while they were inches from the surface, Sara flipped onto her back and pulled her wings around them both as tight as she could make them

Hitting the water on her back wasn't too bad, almost like water skiing. It was once the water turned to sand, that it became agony. Skidding across the compacted, cold sand caused the top of Sara's wings to catch and spin them onto her side, so she tightened her grip on Trixie and felt the girl do the same. They didn't come to a full stop until Sara's back slammed into something hard and ungiving. Agonizing pain radiated from the point of impact, ending at the back of her head, causing her vision to go completely black.

* * *

Maze stood on the cliff, looking over the edge, completely uninterested in the commotion going on behind her. More officers had arrived and were speaking to everyone currently on the bluff. Well, all but herself. They all seemed to be avoiding her. At one-point Maze was sure she could hear Chloe crying, maybe even screaming, but she had her focus elsewhere. She was still astonished at what she had just witnessed, even as her brain tried to deny it.

She could tell the moment the human male had decided to throw her little human over the edge, she had seen it in his eyes. The female beside her must have seen it too, because the two of them bolted towards the man at the same time. Maze had let her knife fly, hoping to stop his action. It had hit its mark, but Trixie had still gone over the side. Since she was faster than the girl beside her, Maze reached the edge of the cliff first and had a split second to watch her little human fall to what Maze was sure would be her death. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the human female reach the edge and was sure she would skid to a stop as well. But she didn't.

Dumbfounded, Maze had watched the girl dive headfirst off the end of the cliff. She fell maybe fifteen feet before midnight black wings had erupted from her back. Maze watched the wings sore out to sea, before turning back towards the shore, but by then the sun had set completely and the light was gone. The color of the wings made it impossible for Maze to visually follow, even with her demonic eyesight. But one thing Maze was sure of, the girl had managed to get to Trixie.

She sensed Lucifer come up beside her and in an unusual show of support felt his hand on her shoulder, she glanced over at him. "Did you just see that?"

He was silent for a moment, then nodded solemnly. "The Detective, Ms. Lopez, Dan, and a few of the other officers are heading down there." He gave her shoulder a squeeze, "Do you… need anything?"

Maze shook her head, finally realizing he was not on the same page and had not seen the same thing she had. "No, I'm not talking about Trixie going over the side." She gestured over the edge, "I'm talking about how the girl who just dove off the cliff after her, has wings. Midnight black wings. And we both know who among your siblings has wings like that."

It took a moment before Lucifer understood what she was saying. It wasn't like there were a lot of options on what that meant. He looked over the edge himself, "That's not possible." With the light of day gone, the ocean waters looked black and it was impossible to see the bottom of the cliff. "Are you sure they were black?" Maze nodded her head, following his line of sight. "Impossible."

* * *

Next thing to register in Sara's train of thought, the cold seeping into her body and a sharp throbbing pain running the length of her back and wings; it took her a moment to remember what had happened. The jump off the cliff, the nosedive to save Trixie and the crash landing onto the beach. Every breath she took sent a sharp agonizing pain radiating from her neck to her back and all the way around to her ribs. She tried to move, to sit up or roll over, but the pain in her back and neck wouldn't let her. She opened her eyes surprised it was nightfall, with a crescent mooning giving off just enough light to see Trixie standing beside her.

"Trixie," she whispered and even that little bit sent a new wave of agony through her body.

"You have wings."

Sara grinned. Of course, those would be the first thing she thought about, not the death dive they had just survived. She could feel herself lying on her wings, so she knew they were still out. She would have to address that soon. "Are you hurt?"

There was a moment where Trixie seemed to think about it. "I…I don't think so." Her eyes never left the wings as she shook her head. She knelt beside Sara being incredibly careful of the wings laying in the sand. The left one was draped awkwardly over the rock they had crashed into, while the right one was folded beside her, but even it looked crooked with a few of the longer feather tips poking out. Trixie reached out a hand, then jerked it back to her chest. "Can I?"

Closing her eyes, trying to get the pain under control, Sara nodded reaching for her mothers' necklace but felt nothing. A vague memory of feeling it ripped off as she struggled with Kenneth came to her and she hoped she would be able to find it at the top of the cliff.

Extending her hand, Trixie gently brushed the closest feather, one of the bigger primary ones. It felt softer than the fluffiest towel she had ever felt. "Are you an Angel?"

This nearly made Sara laugh, "No Trixie. I'm not an angel." She forced herself to sit up, the pain in her back forcing her to lean back against the ice-cold stone. Once she was sitting up, she was able to assess the damage better. She could move her legs, so other than her back being hurt at least it didn't look or feel like anything was broke.

"Then what are you?" She was still petting Sara's wing, and to Sara it felt oddly soothing. Having not been out for over two years, they seemed a little more sensitive. "Because I'm pretty sure normal people don't have wings attached to their back."

"I'm Nephilim." Trixie gave her a confused look and Sara sighed. "My mother was human, my father is an angel."

The girl's eyes went wide, "Angels are real?"

She was more than willing to tell this little girl everything about her but there were more pressing matters. "When we get out of this, I'll tell you all about me. But for now," she pushed through the pain, rolled her shoulders forward contracting her back muscles and successfully, but painfully, pulled each of her wings back in. She rested her head against the stone. "We can't tell them how we survived a hundred- and fifty-foot fall."

Trixie opened her mouth to object but closed it quickly. They sat in silence for a moment, the crashing of the waves the only sound, while Trixie mulled over the situation. "My dad says that lying is bad."

"Your dad is right, but if we tell them about those," she motioned to where her wings had been, "let's just say it never ends well. You've seen E.T.?" Trixie nodded. Sara could feel her whole body starting to shiver. "Good." She closed her eyes, trying to think of a good cover story. She couldn't remember how close to the water the cliff was, and hopefully since she had landed, correction, crashed them onto the beach, maybe they could say the water had dampened the fall and they had swum back to shore?

"How about we tell them when we landed in the water you hit a rock? That would explain your back and why we're all wet." Trixie got to her feet, brushing the sand off her pants and for a moment it looked as if a light bulb had gone off in her head, as if she had pieced together something else. "Besides," she said with a smirk, "who would believe us if we did tell the truth." It was almost like Trixie had read her mind and it was a good idea.

Sara should have felt relief. She might be in a lot of pain, but they were alive, and it didn't take a Sherlock to know the calvary had to be on their way down. But it wasn't relief that was starting to flood her system. She could feel her heart starting to race, and her body was screaming at her to run. She was panicking and didn't know why. She just knew that something bad was coming.

_Get Trixie somewhere safe. _Sara glanced around the beach. They were smack in the middle between the shoreline and the cliff face. To her right and close to the cliff face, about ten yards from their current location, sat three large boulders. Large enough to hide Trixie. She nodded towards them. "Trixie you need to hide."

Trixie looked confused again but followed her line of sight. She had seen the relief replaced with fear and couldn't figure out why Sara would be scared. "What? Why?"

"Please Trixie, just trust me. Get behind those boulders now. And no matter what you see or hear, do not come out."

Sara's fear was catching and for a moment Trixie almost ran for the rocks but stopped. "Through all this, you never looked scared and now your look petrified. What is it?"

Even though she was freezing, she could feel sweat forming on her brow and her heartbeat was picking up. Her fight or flight response was gearing her up to run. "I don't know, but I am trusting my gut and it is screaming for you to hide. So, please," she again nodded towards the rocks.

Trixie waited for three heart beats then with a roll of her eyes and a sigh, wasted no time running across the sand and out of Sara's line of sight. Sara took a deep breath, hoping now that Trixie was relatively safe, the terror building up inside her would go away.

It didn't.

* * *

Trixie pulled her knees to her chest, trying to keep warm and make herself as small as possible as she hid behind the rocks._ 'Angels are real,' _she thought to herself. _'Since angels are real, then so are God and the Devil.'_ This had been the realization she'd come to. _'Lucifer really is the Devil.'_ Of course, it wasn't as if he had ever lied to her and told her he wasn't the devil. In fact, the first time she met him at school, he had told her flat out he was the Devil. _'I wonder if Mommy believes the truth about him?' _she thought. Although she doubted it. Her Mom always required hard proof.

Ever since being grabbed, it had been a rollercoaster ride of emotions. The fear she had felt after being grabbed, the relief when Sara had said she knew her mom and Lucifer. The panic when Kenneth had started to drag her towards the edge of the cliff, the joy when she had seen Maze and then her mom and Lucifer. The terror of going over the edge of the cliff, the awe when she had seen Sara's wings and the feeling of being secured as they had flown out over the waters. Through it all Sara had been so brave, strong and had made her feel safe. The look on Sara's face when she told her to hide, there was no word Trixie could think of other than terrified. If whatever was coming was bad enough its scared Sara, Trixie wasn't going to chance it.

For a moment all she could hear were the waves crashing on the shoreline. It was soothing, but the sound didn't last long. A strong wind picked up and whipped her hair into her face. A thud, strong enough to vibrate through the sand, landed on the beach, and Trixie spun around to peek through a small opening between the rocks. From her vantage point she was able to see a dark figure moving to where Sara lay. The most prominent feature? Wings.

'_An actual Angel,' _she thought as the figure stood over Sara. In what little moonlight there was Trixie could see he was wearing armor and had blonde hair, and even though his wings were folded behind him they reminded Trixie of a barn owls. The middle were soft grey with it darkening to a muddy brown at the tips. A look of disgust cross the man's face.

"My sibling did a fine job hiding you little Nephilim," his voice boomed across the sand and if Trixie hadn't been so scared, she would have thought his voice sound sweet, like ringing church bells. "Who sired you?"

Trixie could tell Sara answered him, but her voice was too soft for her to hear what she said. Whatever it was, the winged man didn't like it. He knelt down, grabbed Sara's arm, and jerked her to her feet in one fluid movement. Trixie could hear her scream out for a second before Sara clamped her mouth shut.

"Let us re-establish our relationship. I ask you a question, you answer me."

Sara shook her head and Trixie could tell whatever she was telling this angel, it was the same response she would have given Kenneth. She was being a smart ass. This made the winged-man furious.

"By the time I am done with you Little Nephilim," he told her, giving her arm a hard shake, "you will be begging to tell me what I want to know."

Trixie watched in a mixture of terror and amazement as the man spread his wings wide and took off, taking Sara with him.


End file.
